Wl rp# ?^'- •'".■ tX'tV"* ■ Ml' T- •■'' ' 1' 111 ■■■-■■■' BU^»'* .^-Trf'i * , r. ■111*.' ' V t I • "J ■ v;' Gass [ L . [ Rnnk OaHl ^ ^^^^ u HmS*. '// ''/// OnC^y'U.i^ y/TtbU d./M.WcU/ HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY, IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MANY OF ITS DISTINGUISHED MEN, SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ABORiaiNES OF NORTHERN NEW YORK, By A; W.^ HOLDEN, M.D. ' Therefore to us that have taken upon us this painful labor of abridginq IT WAS not east, but A MATTER OF SWEAT AND WATCHING ; EVEN AS IT 13 NO EASE UNTO HISI THAT PREPARETH A BANQUET, AND SEEKETH THE BENE- FIT OF OTHERS ; YET FOR THE PLEASURE OF MANY, WE WILL UNDERTAKE GLADLY THIS GREAT PAINS." — n Maccabees, ii, 26, 27. ALBANY, N. T. :' JOEL MUNSELL 1874. Fri.'] f OF THE LATE HALSEY R. WING, AN EARNEST WORKER, A PROFOUOT) THINKER, A WISE COUNSELOR, A SINCERE FRIEND, THROUGH WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT, THIS WORK, AFTER YEARS OP TOIL AND RESEARCH, IS NOW PRESENTED TO THE PUBIilC, THESE PAGES, ABE WITH REVERENT AND AFFECTIONATE REGARD, BY THE AUTHOR. Glen's Falls, Christmas, 1873. A WORD TO THE PUBLIC. BY ANOTHER HAND. ^HE historian is the seer looking backward. My friend, Dr. Holden, has long held this office. For many years, his visions of y^ olden times in Queensbury and vicinity, have placed him far in advance of any other person, as authority on all events of our local history. He almost sees the fish that used to swim in the waters that once covered our plains, and the icebergs depositing their freights of boulders along the mountain shores. He is never lonesome in his professional rides ; he moves amid Indian encampments, and along In- dian trails ; now he marches with an English, and now with an American or French army. Here he says was the ambush, there was the battle, and a little further on was the massacre. He is acquainted with all the first settlers of the town. Dear dweller in these parts, the doctor knows your great grandfather well ; he can tell you where he was born, whom he married, where he built his hut, and where his bones now rest. Read this book, it will open your eyes, as the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened, to see on every hillside and rood of sand, now so dull and dead, the teeming life that has moved here and dwelt here. It will make every spot new to you, and full of interest ; you will see the town prospering, the village growing, enterprise increasing, the churches thriving. I rejoice that the era, so long waited for, has at length come, when this history, which has cost years of earnest VI A WORD TO THE PUBLIC. research, which is so critical and authentic, and which will leave so little on this field to be undertaken by any one hereafter, is about to fall into our hands in type. It is ■ just what we have needed ; and the author is entitled to our lasting gratitude. I am sure that no intelligent na- tive of this town, or permanent inhabitant, can wisely do without this book. Glen's Falls, December 10, 1873. THANKS. ^^fj^ll HANKS and acknowledgements are due to many who have contributed facts and material for this work, which have not been easily accessible to the author ; and also to those who have aided by their assistance and sympathy in the undertaking. Among the names to be thus credited are those of E. B. O'Calla- ghan, LL. D., Dr. Franklin B. Hough, the late Asahel "Wing, Esq., Hiram Ferguson, Zabina Ellis, Fred. A. Hol- den, Hon. James Gibson, Dr. Asa Fitch, George Brown, Dr. James Cromwell, Daniel Parks, Esq., Rev. S. B. Bost- wick, D.D., the late John J. Harris, and Joel Munsell, Esq. In regard to the sources from which the material of the historic narrative has been derived, all the standard his- tories, and biographies bearing upon the subject, have been consulted and compared. Credits and references have been given only in a limited number of instances, and those chiefly where the account has varied from the com- monly received version. The Documentary and Colonial Histories of New York have been the sources from which the greater portion of the work relating to the French war- has been compiled. This has been supplemented by in- formation derived from such rare works as Hoyt's Anti- quarian Researches, Pouchot's Memoirs, Kip's Jesuit Missions, Anbury's Travels, Memoirs of an American Lady, Carver's Travels, Rogers's Journal, Memoirs of John Stark, Dwight's Travels, Fitch's Historical Survey of Washington County, etc., etc. Finally, while entire accuracy may not in all instances have been attained, yet truthfulness has been aimed at, VUl THANKS. with whatever sacrifice of sensation or effect it may have been reached, tradition and legend having a subordinate, though an important place in the relation. With a modest hope that the reader may derive as much pleasure in its perusal, as the author has in its compilation, this volume is now committed to the press. Glen's Falls. Christmas-tide. 1873. PART I. HISTORY TOWN OF QUEENSBTJRY. INTRODUCTION. Aboriginal Occupation — Arch^ological Relics — Mohicans — SCHAGHTICOKES — AdIRONDACKS — AlGONQUINS — IrOQUOIS— St. Francis Tribe — Legend op the Blind Rock — Father Paul. [T the time of its almost simultaneous discovery by Samuel Champlain, and Henry Hudson, the territory of Northern New York, was the debatable ground of two powerful savage confederacies, the Adirondack at the north, and the Iroquois at the south. At the same time, on its eastern borders dwelt the Schaghticokes and a few scat- tered remnants of their affiliated tribes, which once held their council iires at Albany, and ruled this region with undisputed sovereignty from the sources to the mouth of the Hudson. Comprised within the limits of the great triangle, bounded by Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence, Hudson, and Mohawk rivers, was a vast reach of table laud, amid whose tangle of streams and lakes, majestic mountain peaks and rugged ranges, endless swamps and illimitable forests, thronged and herded the elk, moose and deer ; their coverts and recesses af- forded range and security for the lurking wolf and the stealthy panther, the prowling bear and the subtle lynx. The pursuit of these was the red man's labor and recreation. The products of the chase furnished his food and raiment ; its attainment and success constituted his wealth and distinction. These were the loved and frequented hunting grounds of the aborigines, and, as tradition informs us, the scene of many a sanguinary struggle for supremacy, which thiimed the warrior ranks, and opened up a pathway of conquest to the descendants of the hardy Viking, the sturdy Saxon, and the gallant Celt. 1 2 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. T^he evidences of these conflicts are found imbedded along the banks of every stream, and beneath the soil of every carrying place from Albany to Montreal. Arrow and spear-heada, knives, hatchets, gouges, chisels, amulets and calumets, are, even to this late day, often found in the furrow of the plowman or the excavation of the laborer. Few localities have furnished a more abundant yield of these relics than the soil of Queensbury. While gun flints and bullets, spear heads and arrow points are found broadcast, and at large through the town, there are places abounding with them. Among the most noteworthy of these may be enumerated " the old Bill Harris's camp ground," in Harrisena, the headlands around Van Wormer's, Harris's, and Dunham's bays on Lake George, the Round pond near the Oneida, the Ridge, the vicinity of the Long pond, the banks of the meadow run and Carman's neck at the open- ing of the Big bend. This last was long noted as a run- way for deer and traditions are handed down of grand hunting frolics at this point, where large quantities of game were hunted and driven within the bend, and while a small detachment of hunters served to prevent their retreat, the imprisoned game, reluctant to take the water down the precipitous blufls, was captured or killed at their leisure. At this point, and also in the neighborhood of Long pond, fragments of Indian pottery, and culinary utensils of stone, have been found in such profu- sion, as to give coloring to the conjecture that large numbers of the natives may have resorted to these attractive spots, for a summer residence and camping ground. The old wilderness trails, and military thoroughfares, the neighborhood of block houses, picket posts, garrison grounds, and battle fields, in ad- dition to their Lidian antiquities have yieided many evidences of civilized warfare, in their harvests of bullets and bomb shells, buttons, buckles, bayonets, battered muskets and broken swords, axes and tomahawks of steel ; chain, and grape shot, coins, cob- money and broken crockery. Such relics are often valuable as the silent witnesses to the truth of tradition, and the verifi- cation of history. The eastern part of New York, at a period long anterior to the Iroquois ascendency, was occupied by a tribe variously known as the Ma-hick-an-ders, Muh-hea-kan-news, Mo-hea- cans, and Wa-ra-na-wan-kongs. The territory subject to their domination and occupancy, extended from the Connecticut to THE SCHAGHTICOKE INDIANS. 3 the Hudson as far north as the southern extremity of Lake George. According to Schoolcraft, these Indians were among the tribes of the Algonquin stock. At the period of their greatest power, their national council lire was held on the ground now covered by the city of Albany, which was then known to them by the name of Pem-pot-a-wut-hut, signifying the fire place of the nation. The word Muh-ha-a-kuu-uuck, from which the word Mohican is derived, means a great water or sea that is constantly in motion, either flowing or ebbing." Their traditions state that they originally came from a country very far to the west, where they lived in towns by the side of a great sea. In consequence of a famine, they were forced to leave their homes, and seek a new dwelling place far away to the east. They, with the cognate tribes of Manhattans, Pequots, ISTarragan setts and Nipmucks, occupied the whole peninsula of ISTew England from the Penobscot to Long Island sound. The Brotherton community, and the Stockbridge tribe, now con- stitute the sole remnant of this once numerous people. Pre- vious to the establishment of the Dutch colonies in this state, the Mohicans had been driven eastwardly by the Iroquois, and, at the time of their first intercourse with the whites, were found in a state of tributary alliance with that fierce people. The early attachment which was formed with the first English colo- nists of Connecticut by the politic Mohicans, no doubt contri- buted in a great measure to their preservation during the harassing wars which prevailed through the colonial peninsula for the first fifty years of its settlement. The Schaghticoke Indians received their name from the lo- cality where they dwelt, derived, according to Spaffbrd, from the Indian term Scaugh-wank, signifying a sand slide. To this, the Dutch added the terminal, cook. The evidences of the early Dutch occupancy, exist to day, in the current names of the tri- butaries of the Hudson as far up as Fort Edward creek. The settlement of this tribe was seated on the Hoosick river not far from the town now bearing the same name. The hunting grounds of this vicinity, as far north as Lake George, for many years after the first white man had erected his rude habitation within this disputed border, were occupied by theSchaghticokes, under permission of the Mohawks, who owned the lauds, and with whom they were upon friendly terms. 4 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Their numbers, at all times small, were greatly diminished about the year 1745, when a large portion of the tribe aban- doned the village, and proceeded to Canada, where they united with the tribes in the French interest. Their subsequent agency in the destruction of the settlements at Hoosick, Saratoga, and Lydius's mills gives a fearful importance to their history in connection with the border annals of Northern New York. By a reference to the proceedings of a council on Indian affairs held at Albany in 1754, it will be seen that the River Indians were usually present at the treaties and councils of the Six na- tions, and had a voice in their deliberations.* On this occasion, the reply of the Schaghticoke Indians, to the address of the governor and council, represents their numbers as small, and their representatives as young and inexperienced. The Algonquin nation, which, at the time of Cartier's first voyage of discovery in 1534, occupied in its affiliations, alli- ances and dependencies, the whole extent of country, border- ing upon the great lakes, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Red river of the north, according to their traditions once occu- pied all the valley of the Lakes George and Champlain, as far westward as the St. Lawrence river and Lake Ontario. From these pleasant hunting grounds, after years of struggle and dis- comfiture, they were finally driven to the north-west by their pow- erful antagonists, the Iroquois, who in derision conferred upon the tribe the name of Adirondacks, signifying literally, a peo- ple who eat the bark of trees. The term Algonquin was one which was subsequently applied by the French to a particular class of that tribe, whose descendants are now settled in the vicinity of the lake of two mountains, Canada West. The earlier, and proper name by which this great family was known, was the Nipercerinians. They were finally amalgamated with the Caugh- nawagas, and fragments of other tribes, after many vicissitudes and reverses, and united in a civil jurisdiction, under the name of The Seven Nations of Canada. They were superior to the Iroquois in arts and attainments, and, at the culmination of their power had not only assumed in their relations to the neighboring tribes an attitude of commanding power, alike respected for its counsels, and feared for its strength, but had reached a point of civilization and polish scarcely equalled ' Doc. Hist. N. T., vol. ii, p. 572. THE ALGONQUIN NATION. 5 by any of the tribes nortb of the dominions of the ancient Aztecs. The Lenni-Lenape, Shawanese, Chippewas, Ottowas, "Winne- bagoes, Illini, nearly all of the New England tribes, including the Warapanoags, Pequots, Narragansetts, and Mohicans, had their origin, according to their common traditions, in this pro- lific stock. They were a mild, industrious, and brave people, scrupulous in fulfilling their promises, trustworthy, and honor- able according to the Indian code ; but comparatively effemi- nate, being neither so skilled in stratagem, fierce and relentless in war, eloquent in debate, nor politic and sagacious in council, as their hardier and more warlike neighbors at the south. Through the instrumentality of the earlier French navigators, who, from the outset of their intercourse with the people, had supplied them with fire-arms, and ammunition, a temporary success attended their warlike efforts; but the Dutch at the south, and the English colonists at the east, soon placed their hereditary enemies on an equal footing, and slowly, yet surely, they were expelled and driven beyond the mighty current of the Hochelaga. The traditions of this people state, that they originally came from a foreign country far to the north-west. They represented the Creator under the allegory of a large bird, and the order of the Creation in their legends, nearly corresponds with the Mosaic cosmogony. Like the majority of the Alleghanian tribes, they retain an account of the deluge, the waters of which covered the whole earth, except the summits of the highest mountains, whither their ancestors retreated, and remained in safety. They all believe in a Supreme Being, a future state of existence, a sensual paradise, and a state of punishment or retribution re- sembling that of Tantalus in the Grecian mythology. They also believe that in the beginning, the Great Spirit created an antagonistic power of evil, with which he is ever contending for the mastery. The sun stands to them as the representative and symbol of the Great Spirit, and is said by their medicine men to have been worshipped as such by their ancestors. They hold, also, the belief in the existence of minor spirits and powers both of darkness and light, such as furies, gnomes, and sylphs, water- sprites, genii and personal angels which attend every individual in the character of guardians and defenders. Their customs and worship are based upon supernatural observances; and 6 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. though their traditions speak of sacrificial offerings, their religious rites, since the days of the discovery, are but a little more than a series of superstitious mummeries, which scarcely impose on the credulity of the uneducated savage. Though, beyond a doubt, the warriors and hunters of this tribe once ranged the forests and hill sides of this township, in pursuit of foe and game, yet they have left no monuments of their occupancy, and the story of Adirondack greatness and renown, can only be surmised from the chant of the crooning squaw, or the relation of the half-blood borderer amid the dark firs and icy air of the far northern wilderness. "We now come to the consideration of the Six I^Tations, which, in point of prowess, power, and the extent of domain, may be considered as the first, and most important nationality among the red men of North America, unless we make a single excep- tion in favor of the Nahuatlac tribes of the Mexican peninsula. On the authority of Schoolcraft, who has probably made more thorough investigations in relation to the archseology of this people, than any other writer, the term Iroquois, by which they are commonly designated, is of French origin, and is de- rived from an affirmative ejaculation or response, usually made by their warriors and sachems, on the reception of an address or speech. They were known to the Dutch as the Maquas, to the early English settlers, as the Mingoes, to the Mohicans as the Meugwe, and to the Algonquins as the ISTodowas. Although, from time to time in the progress of their history, we hear of various tribes joining this confederacy, yet the order of their nationality soon became lost in the ascendancy of the original tribes. Thus, the ISTecariages who joined them in 1723, the Messasauges who were admitted as a seventh nation in 1746, as also the remnant of, the Stockbridge tribe, which was annexed to them at a later day, soon lost their individuality, and the United People, as the Iroquois called themselves, continued to be designated by friend and foe as the Six nations. According to their own traditions, they originally consisted of seven nations, which, at a later period, were merged in six. This number they clung to as a distinguishing feature of their nationality up to the period when its existence was obliterated, and the brave descendants of many generations of warriors, became pensioners upon the stinted and parsimonious charity of the whites. THE SIX NATIONS. 7 The territory over which the Iroquois held sway, extended at different times, aud more especially at the epoch of the esta- blishment of the Dutch rule in this state, from the Connecticut to the Mississippi rivers; but their settlements proper, includ- ing their castles, villages, and cultivated grounds, were limited to the interior and south-western portion of New York, stretch- ing westwardly from the valley of the Mohawk to the lake of the Eries. This section they figuratively called their long-house, the eastern door of which at Albany, was guarded by the Mo- hawks, and the western entrance was secured with equal vigil- ance by the Seuecas. Prior to the occupation of Canada by the French, the Six nations had no villages or permanent settle- ments north of the valley of the Mohawk ; although they claim to have had villages upon the banks of the St. Lawrence at a very early period in their history. Respecting their origin, their traditions are various and con- flictins:. One of their own writers claims that their ancestors were called forth from the bowels of a mountain by Tar-en-ya- wag-on, or the Holder of the Heavens. Their relations gene- rally agree in the statement that they originally migrated from a country far to the south-west, and had continued their progress to the sea, from whence they retraced their steps, and settled by tribes in the order in which they were discovered by the whites as follows, viz : commencing with the Mohawks on the east, next came the Oneidas, the Onondagas, Cayugas and Seuecas. The Tuscaroras, who became members of the confed- eracy at a later day, had their seat between the Oneidas and Onondagas. It is conjectured that of these groups, the Mohawk was the parent stock, from which the other clans were derived. This tribe was known as the elder brother among them, and it always commanded a prominent place and consideration in the councils of the league. Its territorial jurisdiction included that portion of Eastern New York which extends from the sources of the Delaware and Susquehanna to Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence. The Oneidas were an offshoot from the Onondagas. Ac- cording to their own myth, they were the offspring of the once celebrated Oneida stone in the town of Stockbridge, Madison county. The name signifies, the people who sprang from the stone. They were called younger brothers by the rest of the confederacy. 8 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. The Onondagas. or people of the swamp, asserted that their lands were the first settled, and their chief villasje as the long established capital of the federation. They claimed their origin from an eminence near the falls on the Oswego river. The Cayugas, who were settled around the fertile and plea- sant borders of the Cayuga lake, occupied a distinguished place in the history of the Iroquois. They also are conjectured to have sprung from the Onondagas, migrating at an early period, and planting themselves in the lovely region, over which they held undisputed sway for upwards of two centuries. The Senecas, or, as they termed themselves, Nundowaga, the people of the hills, were the most numerous of the six cantons. They have a legend, that they descended from a couple who dwelt on a hill, at the head of Canandaigua lake. Their name, though coincident with that of the great Roman poet and philosopher, is believed to be of Mohawk derivation, and its use has been traced to within fi:ve years of Hudson's first discovery. They contributed more than either of the tribes to the extension of the Iroquois dominions, and their war parties were the scourge and terror of all the tribes from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. It is impossible, at this late day, to determine w^ith any accu- racy the date at which the Iroquois federation was adopted. That it took place as early as the discovery of this continent may be justly inferred from the few gleams of truth to be derived from their wampum belts and picture annals. Accord- ing to tradition, their compact was formed on the banks of the Onondaga lake, a powerful and influential chief by the name Thannowaga having not only originated the idea, but pushed it forward to a successful accomplishment. Whatever specula- tions may be hazarded in relation to this vague point, it is certain, from their prowess and achievements, that they had long been banded together for purposes of mutual aid and co- operation long before the whites mingled in their dusky coun- cils, or added the weapons of civilized life to the fierce passions, and untamed energy of the savage state. From their legends we learn of the total extinction of a tribe called the Allegrha- nians at a period indefinitely remote in their history. At a later date, the Eries, a powerful nation, dwelling on the shores of the lake which bears their name, were overwhelmed, and their national existence blotted out. The Kahkwas were obliterated THE SIX NATIONS. 9 from the catalogue of forest nations. The Susquehannocks were annihilated. The Satanas were whirled before them like the thistle down before the tempest, and their identity forever lost. The Hu- rons, Wyandots and Quatoghies, were driven from their hunt- ing grounds, and scattered in isolated hamlets among the islands and peninsulas of the far lakes, where they alone found safety in their insignificance. The Andastes were hunted out and ex- tirpated from the wide spreading forests of Ohio. The Dela- wares, Nanticokes and Manhattans were subjugated, and by annual tribute and humiliating submission, averted the merci- less brand of destruction. They carried terror, and desolation along the Appalachian mountains ; their fierce war whoop rang along the valley of the Housatonic and resounded from the palisades on the Hudson ; the cries of their victims ascended with the mists of St. Anthony's falls; their pseans of victory were echoed from the crags and cliffs of Lake Superior; and far or near the aboriginal nomads quailed and retreated from their wild battle cry, and for upwards of two centuries, they swept the continent, from the eternal barriers of ice at the north to the very verge of the tropics, with the brand of conquest, or the besom of destruction. The government, and social polity of the Iroquois, united some of the better features of the feudal aristocracies, and mon- archical rules with some of the approved forms of a republican government, the general tenor of their polity assuming a patri- archal type. Their presiding ruler or civil head of the con- federacy was distinguished by the name of the Atotarho. This position was hereditary, belonging to a family of the Onondaga tribe, the line of succession following down through the female branches of the royal kin. Instances have not been wanting in their history, in which this venerated official has led their tribal hosts to battle and victory. He was supposed to be at all times employed, in serving the welfare, and guarding the interests of the league. The command of their armies devolved upon the principal warrior of the Mohawk tribe. This military leader bore the name of the Tekarihogea. The two kings Heudrick, Little Abraham and Brant, during the colonial period of our history, were examples of this chieftainship. This office, like the former 10 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. was hereditary, except in extraordinary instances, when it was conferred upon superior valor or merit. Under these officers, presided six sachems, selected equally for their bravery, skill, and wisdom, from each of the several tribes. It has been stated, that at the organization of the con- federacy, fifty of these rulers were created, with as many alter- nates to act as assistants or proxies as circumstances required, and these were apportioned throughout the six cantons, where- ever personal distinction and merit formed a fitting subject for preferment. These chiefs affected great poverty, and although largely called upon to exercise the rights of hospitality to their tribesmen, and all visitors, they generally distributed among their needy followers and parasites, their entire quota of tribute and share of plunder accruing from forays into neighboring territories. Each canton was sub-divided into three or more distinct clans or families, designated by what they denominated totems, which, in forest heraldry, served as a badge of brother- hood, and hereditary distinction, and a certification of pergonal bravery and worth. The more distinguished of these totems, were the tortoise, the bear, and the wolf. These insignia were conspicuously tattooed upon their persons, and were re- garded by them with the pride and satisfaction which accom- pany the possession of armorial bearings, and knightly honors. The six sachems before mentioned, constituted the grand federative council of the league. The Atotarho presided at its deliberations, and on all state occasions the principal warriors, orators, and chiefs of the several tribes were summoned to par- ticipate in the counsels. This august body levied war, con- tracted alliances, sanctioned treaties, and prescribed their in- ternecine regulations, and foreign policy. The council fires of the league were constantly kept burning, at the castle of the Onondagas, and from it the people were yearly supplied with the sacred fire by the priests, or medicine men, with the most impressive rites and ceremonies. Here, also, during each year, was held the feast of the union, to keep bright the chain of their covenant, at which deputies from each tribe participated, and met to smoke in the great calumet of the confederacy Each tribe had also eight sub-officials called Ra-ko-wa-nas, who were probably the head men of the several families repre- THE SIX MATIONS. 11 seuted. These discharged the duties of magistrates in their re- spective villages in times of peace, and in war marshalled the braves to battle. Each of these had his subordinate, who acted as his substitute, or aid as occasion demanded. They were called Mishinawas. Still below these were a host of minor offi- cials, petty sachems, and brevet chieftains, whose duties and functions were various and fluctuating. The rights, preroga- tives, and powers of their rulers, seem to have been founded mainly upon the terms of respect due to capacity, ability, and past services. All males above the age of puberty, were supposed to be ca- pable of taking the war path, and from that period, were, accord- ing to their usages, required to bear arms and render military service. The admission to the portals of manhood, was to them a solemn event, ushered in by protracted fastings, arduous trials, and imposing ceremonials, well calculated to inure the neophyte to the fatigue of the chase, and exalt his mind above the hazards of the battle-field. These preparations had their commencement in the wild peculiarities of their religious be- lief, and all their customs from the medicine dance to the great annual feast at their national altar were but parts of their pagan ceremonial and worship. In their councils and treaties, their war chiefs were held in secondary estimation, and all encroachments upon the prero- gatives of their sachems were carefully guarded against, with a watchful discrimination and jealous vigilance. On the other hand, whenever the interests of the commonalty and women were involved, as in the sale, or partition of lands, they had an equal, and sometimes controlling voice in the determination of the question. Their cultivated lands in particular were consi- dered the peculiar heritage of the women who tilled, and of the warriors who defended them. They exhibited a sagacious policy in regard to their prisoners of war. These were rarely exchanged, but with the remnants of conquered tribes were termed Wa-hait-wat-sha, literally, a body divided into pieces and scattered around. These were adopted according to their ability to care for, or look after them, among diflereut families, and were thus incorporated into the several tribes of the confederacy. As public speakers, the Iroquois have no equals in the annals of the red race. The reported speeches of Garangula, Logan, 12 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. and Red Jacket equal in force and fervor, in imagery, eloquence and pathos the best efforts of the most gifted orators of the world. The Iroquois lacked the great welding and cohesive power of a common language, all of the tribes having a distinct dialect, bearing a striking resemblance to each other, and evidently de- rived from a common root. Of these, the Mohawk was the most harsh and guttural, and the language of the Senecas the most euphonious. In their ordinary conversation there was a great range of modulation in the inflections of the voice, while expressive pantomime and vehement gestures helped to eke out the meagerness of their vernacular on the commonest occasions. Their proper names were invariably the embodiments of ideas, and their literature,. as contained in their oft repeated legends, and the well remembered eloquence of their gifted orators, abounded with the most sublime imagery, -and striking anti- theses, which were drawn at will by these apt observers of nature, from the wild scenes, and picturesque solitudes with which they were most familiar. After the Revolution, the Mohawks, and such portions of the other tribes as espoused the cause of Great Britain in the strug- gle for independence, withdrew to Canada, and were seated upon a section of territory granted by the crown, in the vicinity of Brantford, at the head of Lake Ontario, where their descend- ants are residing in a prosperous and flourishing condition at the present day. The remainder of this people, after disposing by piece and parcel of the rich heritage left them by their forefathers, have been gathered finally upon their various reservations, around which the waves of emigration and civilization have surged for more than half a century. Here, in their villages and hamlets, with their schools, workshops and churches, this once warlike people are now peacefully and contentedly employed in the pursuits of agriculture and industry and the cultivation of the useful arts, presenting a singular, and in some respects, a re- freshing contrast, to the bustle and whirl, the greed, selfishness and rapacity of the world around them. The St. Francis Indians are descended from the once powerful Androscoggins, a branch of the great Abeuakies, or Tarrateens,* which at one time held sway over the entire territory embraced in the peninsula of :N"ova Scotia, Maine and Eastern Canada. THE ST. FRANCIS TRIBE. 13 Through the indefatigable labors of Father Rasles, who dwelt among these tribes for more than twenty years, a flourishing mis- sion was established in the early part of the eighteenth century, at N"ar-rant-souak on the River Kennebeck. This settlement speedily became the rallying point for the French and Indians in their descents upon the frontier settlements of New Hamp- shire and Massachnsetts. The danger from this quarter at length became so eminent and pressing, that an expedition was finally planned for its destruction. A force of two hundred men, with a detachment of Indian allies, was fitted out in the summer of 1724, under the leadership of Captains Moulton and Harman of York. The village was invested. The attack was a surprise. Father Rasles, and about thirty of the Abenaki war- riors killed, and the remainder dispersed. The survivors of this relentless massacre, with the remainder of the tribe, fled to the Mission village of St. Francis, situated upon the lake of that name at the head of the St. Francis river. The frequent acces- sions of fugitives to their ranks, due to the active, aggressive policy of the English, so increased their numbers, that they soon became known as the St. Francis tribe. Under the training of their priests they speedily became a powerful ally of the French, cooperating with the predaceous bands of half savage habitans, kept the English border settlements in terror and trepidation, for a space of twenty-five years. In the notable campaign of 1757, a large party of them accompanied Montcalm in his ex- pedition against Fort William Henry, at the southern extremity of Lake George, and were participants in the fearful and fiend- ish massacre which followed the surrender of that fort. They were doomed however to a reprisal, and vengeance, swift, tho- rough and effective. Immediately subsequent to the successes of General Amherst in 1759, the distinguished partisan Major Robert Rogers, was despatched with a force of two hundred picked men from his corps of rangers, to demolish the settle- ment, and chastise the tribe for its complicity in the frightful massacres of the three preceding campaigns. Proceeding with caution and celerity, the village was surrounded before an alarm was given, and after a brief, sharp contest, the place was re- duced, and the inhabitants, without respect to age or sex, were ruthlessly put to the sword. The dwellings and fortifications, together with a valuable church, fitted up with costly decora- tions and embellishments, were committed to the flames, and 14 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. destroyed. A large silver image, two hundred guineas in mo- ney, and a large amount of booty and spoils were carried off by the victors. Although their village and church were rebuilt, from that time forward the tribe rapidly decreased, until the settlement became almost depopulated. But a small remnant now remains of that once powerful race which hailed with wild enthusiasm the preaching of the border crusade, ere its fiery devotees rushed forth with bow and brand to desolate the smil- ing fields, and lay waste the hamlets of the early settlers of North- ern New York. The few straggling representatives of the red race who haunt the watering places of this vicinity, during the season of travel, selling bead and basket work, are mostly descendants of the St. Francis tribe, who linger around the old hunting ground, like ghosts whose unfulfilled mission still holds them reluctant wan- derers on the shores of time. Among the many localities of traditionary interest, within the town of Queensbury the Blind rock is associated in the memories of the oldest inhabitants with scenes and tales of tor- ture, cruelty, and suffering, the horrible details of which are as varied as the diabolical inventions of savage ingenuity could execute upon its unresisting victims. By a reference to the old town record, it will be seen that the commissioners of high- ways have, in several instances, referred to this as a common, and well known point in their surveys for private roads, and occasioned changes in the public thoroughfares. Dr. Fitch, in the Historical Survey of Washington County, refers to it in the following language : "Almost every step between the present village of Sandy Hill and the lake thus became tracked with blood ; and Half- way brook, and Blind rock, and the Five-mile run became noted as places of ambuscade, and were always approached with fear and apprehension." This rock is one of the numerous boulders that lie in the path of the diluvial drift trending from the lofty Adirondack range to the valley of the Hudson. Its composition is gneiss. It is deeply imbedded beneath the drift and soil, the slow ac- cumulation of untold ages, and, although legend states that within the period of a human life, over four feet of the rock has been exposed to view, yet the gradual wash from the hill above, and the frequent passage of the plow at its sides, has so filled LEGEND OF THE BLIND ROCK. 15 up the inequalities of the surface, that but a very small portion of the crown of the rock is now visible. It is situated a yard or two from the route of the old military highway leading from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry, and about twenty-five rods to the east of the present plank road to Caldwell, on the farm owned by Mr. William Miller, and about two and one- half miles north of Glen's Falls village. It is stated by some of the older inhabitants, that the rock has a large cleft or crevice through the centre, caused by the repeated and heavy fires to which it has evidently been subjected at some long distant period. According to various legends, this locality was a favorite place of encampment for the Indians, and a frequent point of resort for the torture and immolation of the numerous prisoners captured by them in their excursions against the settlements at the south, or taken upon the line of march between the two great places of rendezvous at Fort Edward and Lake George. One account states that the name of Blind rock was given to this scene of savage cruelty, in consequence of a blind man being brought here, put to the torture, and finally burnt to death upon its summit. Another version is that a captive's eyes were torn out, and thrown into the burning embers gathered in the crevice of the rock. All the stories agree in representing it as a place where prisoners were habitually tortured, their finger and toe nails torn out, their flesh gashed and hacked, their persons maimed, mutilated and mangled with knives, spears and tomahawks ; blazing splinters of fat pine thrust into the shrinking, quivering flesh ; and after every resource of savage craft and skill was exhausted, and their fainting victims were ready to drop in unconsciousness to the ground, their writhing bodies were tossed into the fierce flames, kept burning on the sacrificial stone, and were there relentlessly held among the seething brands, until life and the semblance of humanity had become extinct in their blackened and shrivelled forms. Tradition has handed down to us the details of one afiair when two English prisoners were captured while on their way from Lake George to Fort Edward. The Blind rock being nearly equidistant from these two points, comparatively safe from attack or molestation ; abounding in material for building their torture fires, contiguous to a rivulet of the purest water; and furnishing a cleared, dry, commodious site for a camping 16 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. ground, caused this vicinity to be more resorted to than any other on the whole route from Lake St. Francis to Albany. On this particular occasion, the captives were divested of their clothing, and one of them firmly lashed with thongs of bark to one of the neighboring trees. The numerous pines in the vi- cinity soon furnished material for the fierce, glowing fire. The usual council was in the meantime assembled, and its delibera- tions resulted in the determination that the prisoners should first run the gauntlet; after which the usual tortures were to be resorted to, crowning their exercises with the customary cremation. In execution of this plan, the savages formed an extended circle around the fire, within which the captor was placed, and to avoid the fierce blaze of the crackling fire, be was obliged to shrink to the verge of the armed circle of painted demons who surrounded him, who, as often as he came within their reach, struck at him with their keen edged tomahawks and glittering knives, and impelled him onward in his weary death race, by thrusting at him with their spears, or with the blows of their formidable war clubs. At length, when nearly exhausted, he caught sight of a papoose, or Indian child, that unheeded, had worked its way among the feet of the warriors. With the im- pulse of desperation, the prisoner dashed forward, seized the child, and fiung it on the fire. For an instant the savages were appalled and paralyzed ; and then, regardless of their victims, with loud clamors and shouts rushed forward to rescue the little scion of their tribe. In this moment of confusion, the captive snatched a hatchet, and liberated his companion from his bonds. They immediately took to the woods, and making a long detour, succeeded in escaping from their enemies, and finally reached Fort Edward, their flesh lacerated with the briers and underbrush, through which they forced their way, on their frightful and perilous journey. These, and many other incidents of a kindred nature, it is natural to suppose should have perpetuated the memories of this spot with an unfailing interest through all time, and yet, save to a few of the older residents, who in childhood, by the old fashioned blazing hickory 'fire, or the fiickering flare of the pine knot, have lis- tened shuddering to these recitals of horror, the place is un- known to the people as possessing any historic interest, and the events connected with it, until now, an unrecorded myth. I have SKETCH OP REV. ANTHONY PAUL. 17 consulted old people who were born here in the town, who had never heard of such a place as " the blind rock," and, but for the accidental occurrence of the name on the town records, the whole afikir would doubtless have soon passed into oblivion. Something more than a half a century ago, a laborer named Robert Cranney while ploughing in a field south of, and adja- cent to this rock, heard a metallic sound like the jingling of coin in the furrow. His search was rewarded by finding nearly twenty-five dollars of an ancient coinage, which had been libe- rated from their long concealment by the edge of the plough- share, which had doubtless torn asunder the decayed purse in which they were originally contained. Animated by this dis- covery, all of the ground in the neighborhood of this rock, was subsequently thoroughly explored for treasure supposed to be concealed there. An eye witness states that he has seen the woods in the adjoining fields, thronged with horses tied to the trees, while their owners or riders were busily engaged in throw- ing up the earth, and sinking deep pits in search for money and valuables.^ It is to be presumed that these efibrts were at- tended with but little success, as no important results have been beard of as the consequence of this industry. COB-MONEY. The annals of the town, and the history of the Presbyterian church within its borders, would be incomplete without some account of the Rev. Anthony Paul, who, in the primitive days of the settlement, furnished religious instruction and consola- tion to a sparsely settled and not over devout pastorate, em- bracing all that region bordering upon the western shores, and southern extremity of Lake George ; and occasionally extend- * In the olden time specimens similar to those in the illustration were frequently found in the neighborhood of the picket posts and block houses. These fraprments were denominated cob-money from the resemblance of the stamp to the section of a corn cob, and were fragments of the old style cross pistareen. 3 18 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. ing his ministrations, as emergency demanded, among the wilder forests, and rocky declivities of Dresden and Putnam on the eastern borders of the lake. When he came here, and where from, where educated and admitted to the ministry, is, in great part, a matter of doubtful tradition, or questionable conjecture. According to the best information at hand, it is believed that he was a Mohican by birth, and quite probably a son of Moses Paul who was executed for murder at New Haven, Conn., on the 22d of September, 1772. His children claimed to be de- scended from the Stockbridge tribe, which of course is only another name for a branch of the same people. Anthony Paul's wife was a daughter of the celebrated Indian preacher Sampson Occum, in regard to whom I find the following in Drake's Book of the Indians. " Sampson Occum or Occom, was a Mohegan, of the family of Benoni Occum, who resided near New London, in Connecticut. He was the first of that tribe who was conspicuous in religion, if not the only one. He was born in 1723, and becoming at- tached to the Rev. Eleazer Wheelock, the minister of Lebanon in Connecticut, in 1741, he became a Christian. Possessing talents and great piety Mr. Wheelock entertained sanguine hopes that he would be able to eflect much among his country- men as a preacher of the gospel. He went to England in 1765, to procure aid for the keeping" up of a school for the instruction of Indian children, which was begun by Mr. Wheelock, and furthered by a Mr. Moore by a donation of a school house and land,' about 1763. While in England he was introduced to Lord Dartmouth, and other eminent persons. He preached there to crowds of people, and returned to America in 1768, having landed at Boston on his return. It is said he was the first Indian that preached in England. He was ordained, in 1759, a preacher to the Montauks on Long Island.^ About this time he visited the Cherokees. He fitially settled among the Oneida Indians, with many of his Mohegan brethren about 1768 ; they having been invited by the Oneidas. He died in July, 1792, at North Stockbridge, New York, aged 69." Stone, in his Life of Brant, states that the school at Dart- mouth was not opened until 1770, previous to which time. Dr. ' For an extended account of his ministrations and services, see Dwight's Travels. vol. II, p. 99. SOME ACCOUNT OF FATHER PAUL. 19 Wheelock had charge of the Moore Charity School, at Le- banon, Connecticut, at which Sampson Occam, the first Indian pupil, had been received about the year 17-43. It is supposed that Anthony Paul was one of Dr. Wheelock's pupils at Le- banon, and possibly pursued his divinity studies under the per- sonal supervision of Occum himself. It is conjectured that he removed to this region soon after the close of the revolutionary war, making his residence at first in the north part of Queens- bury, afterwards at Caldwell, and later on in Bolton, which latter place was the principal theatre of his ministerial labors. In a conversation, which the compiler of this work had some years ago with Mrs. Emma Goss, the daughter of Stephen Stevenson, she stated that her father moved to this town, when she was but three years old, which would make the time of re- moval in 1785. He settled, cut out a clearing, and erected a log house on the farm recently owned and occupied by Ste- phen Vaughn, on the Dunham's bay road, near which " old John Paul, an Indian, built his hut, and made it his home." . At this time, following her statement, there were only eighteen families residing in the whole town, and the extensive flats east and south, of her father's house were covered with a dense wilder- ness of majestic pines where the wolf and panther lurked in undisturbed security. Whether this John Paul was a member of Anthony Paul's family or not is uncertain. I have supposed him to be either a brother or son. Stevenson's name first ap- pears in the town records for 1795, Anthony Paul had children as follows, their names being presented in the supposed order of birth: Sampson, James, Phebe, Benoni, Jonathan called Daunt, and Henry. The iden- tity of two of the names with the Occum family is infereutially in favor of the claim of relationship. The children are repre- sented as being an idle dissipated lot, and though harmless and inoffensive, " prone to do evil," and caring little for religious observances or social restraints. Sampson's name appears in Judge Robards' docket for the year 1802, as defendant in a law suit ; and on the same docket, Anthony Paul is recorded as de- fendant in an action 18th March, 1805, David Osborne jr., a merchant at the Ridge, being the plaintift". Sampson, a few years later (about the year 1814), obtained a local notoriety for killing a panther with a fishing spear, ofi:" Grassy point in the town of Bolton. It was at the time of the 20 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. breaking up of the ice in the spring. The animal, in a half starved, half frozen' condition, had floated near to the point, on a cake of ice, and in endeavoring to escape to the land, became entangled in the branches of an old tree top that had fallen partly in the lake. Sampson caught sight of the chilled and struggling brute, and seizing his fishing spear, the first weapon at hand, he ran down to the shore, and making his way out on the trunk of the tree, succeeded in thrusting the animal's head under water, and keeping it there, until it was drowned. The skin was carefully removed, stuffed, and for years afterwards graced the show rooms of the Albany Museum. I am indebted to the Rev. Courtney Smith, formerly of W"ar- rensburgh, for the following reminiscence of Father Paul. "I remember Paul, but my memory goes back to its extremest limit to authenticate his image. I must have been a wee bit of a boy, but on some public occasion, I have no idea what, which drew the public together, at the public house kept where the Mohican House is now kept, I seem to have been permitted to be there with my father or older brothers. While there, as I remember distinctly, a canoe came in from the lake, with a single man in it of medium height, somewhat stoutly built, and with the black hair and copper complexion of an Indian. He landed and walked up the bank with much deliberation and gravity of manner. It was the Indian preacher Paul, so I heard it remarked, and I deemed myself most fortunate in having seen him. ****** jj^ i^ad acquired a respectable education in some !N"ew England institution, I am much inclined to think it was in Connecticut, and was regularly licensed to preach. How, or when he found his way into the Bolton set- tlement I cannot say, but at a very early period he came among those few families in the wilderness. They were many of them from New England, with all the ISTew England appreciation of the gospel, and its institutions. As yet they were without a minister, and Paul coming with the requisite credentials, was invited to address them on the Sabbath, on the theme of reli- gion. He did so, and they were edified. He assisted them in burying their dead, and consoled them in their aflElictions, and became much respected. But alas ! The appetite which cha- racterizes his race ruined him. By an occasional indulgence in drink his appetite became fatally masterful. The fire-water burnt out his self respect, and he went down to the degradation SOME ACCOUNT OP THE PAUL FAMILY.' 21 of the drunkard. Of course the people discarded him as a pub- lic teacher, and poor Paul disappeared from the scene." In a memorial commemorating a funeral among the early settlers, the Rev. Keuben Smith wrote concerning him. " The dread- ful habit increased, and at length our good deacons were obliged to tell him that it would not be for edification that he should offi- ciate in public any longer. He wept, tried reformation several times, fell again and again, and at length seemed to give up the attempt. He still clove to religion, however, in some sort, and even tried to preach in another connection." This was the Baptist Society, which, through the ministrations of Elder Bates, elsewhere alluded to, had attained a substantial and pro- sperous footing in the north part of this town. Father Paul officiated in a desultory sort of way, for several years, sinning and repenting, attempting reform and falling again, as many an one has done before him. On one occasion (my informant is Mr. Ralph S. Stebbins of Caldwell) ; " he made one of the most humble confessions ever heard out of the mouth of any human being. It was before his church brethren, and to use his own words, ' his bosom was literally drenched with tears.' A vote of forgiveness was unanimously given." At length, besotted with this vice, he abandoned his sacred calling, and gave himself up to the thraldom of his appetite. After dragging along a miserable existence for some years in his hut on Frenchman's point on the shore of the lake, about the year 1816 he revisited with his wife, the scenes of his childhood and youth in Connecticut. On his return, he coasted leisurely along in his canoe, through Long Island sound, and up the Hudson as far as Kingston point, near Rondout, where he was taken sick and after a brief illness, died and was buried. It is sup- posed that his wife returned to her friends in Connecticut. It is estimated that he was about seventy years old at the time of his death. Sampson was married to a young and very pretty white girl of Whitehall. As the story goes, she was crossed in her afl:ec- tions in some way, and in a paroxysm of anger, declared that she " would marry the first man that asked her even if he was a negro." The speech came to Sampson's hearing, and before her temper had opportunity to take counsel of her judgment, he proposed, and she took the irrevocable step, which alienated her for life from her kindred and race. Two sons and one 22 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. daughter named Christiana, were the fruit of this union. The latter was married to an Indian named Jaqua (called Jakeway) ; and is believed to be now living among the wilds of Putnam or Dresden on the east side of Lake George, opposite Sabbath Day point. Sampson died of inflammation of the lungs, at his cabin on the north bank of Smith brook in the north part of Cald- well, and was buried in a ground on the Harris farm, now belonging to Judge Edmonds in Bolton. Phebe married a man by the name of Wales, and, as their daughter and only child was taken care of, and brought up by the grandparents, it is assumed that the child's mother must have died during its infancy. James, while in a state of semi-intoxication was brutally drowned by a gang of rustic ruffians in McDonald's, since Gar- field's bay, Lake George. It was on a town meeting day, and the waters of the lake were chill ; under some pretext he was inveigled into the lake, or pushed in, and as he endeavored to grasp the only boat at hand, these human brutes would push it beyond his reach, until he was exhausted, and with Indian stoicism, he folded his arms and sunk to rise no more. The question of homicide was investigated by a grand jury, but no indictment was presented. — Hon. William Hay. Benoni was a soldier in the regular army, in the war of 1812- 15, and died while in the service. Jonathan or Daunt as he was called, and Henry died at our county poor house. This completes the family record, so far as I have been able to trace it. This brief narrative, being chiefly a compilation from conflicting accounts, preserved in family traditions, or the memory of the oldest inhabitant, is doubtless faulty in many particulars. Faulty and imperfect as it may be, it is probably all that will be gathered concerning the last resident Indian family of this town. For a principal portion of the facts herein recorded I am indebted to the late Judge Hay of Saratoga Springs, and Mr. Ralph Stebbins of Caldwell. VOCABULARY OF INDIAN NAMES. Preliminary Kemarks. HE wilderness and lake region of Northern New York, was the common hunting ground for various tribes, where, during the unknown centuries preceding the discovery of the New World, divergent nationalities redressed their grievances and wrought out their forest feuds to their bitter end. It therefore naturally followed that the more important and often visited localities, would be honored by two or more names, having varying significations according to the accidents and events, often of a transitory character, from which they were derived. The corruptions and changes which the Indian terminology has undergone in its transitions through the not over grammatical speech of Dutch, French and Yankee traders and adventurers, have contributed largely to impede the labors of the ethnolo- gist, and added difficulties in the way of reaching just conclu- sions as to the derivation and meaning of words. To harmonize and systematize this nomenclature has been utterly impossible, and therefore in each case authorities and references have been given, leaving the reader to his own in- ferences, and devolving upon the originals the responsibility of errors and mistakes. Where two or more authorities have diflered, I have usually takfen those nearest the sources from which the names were derived. Until within a comparatively recent period, there were two noted Indians of the St. Francis tribe, who had their homes and hunting grounds in the great Adirondack wilderness. Their names were Sabele and Sabattis, and over a quarter of a century ago, they were severally reputed to be upwards of a hundred years old, both hale, and with wonderful memories of the past. From them years ago were obtained a portion of the names in- 24 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. eluded in the following list, which with two exceptions are now given to the public for the first time. In the few instances where exact references are not given, the memoranda have been mislaid. Abenakis, ) A name according to Drake signifying " Men of the East," Abenakies. i and originally or formerly applied to all tlie tribes on the coast of the continent, but afterwards restricted to the Aborigines inhabiting Nova Scotia, the territory embraced in the present state of Maine, and a part of Canada. — Early Jesuit Missions hy Rt. Rev. Wm. I. Kip. According to Schoolcraft the name signifies " the east land, or place of light." The St. Francis Indians who occupied so conspicuous a place in our border annals during the old French war, were an offshoot or colony of this tribe. Sabele and Sabattis, some of whose descendants are still living in the northern wilderness, were also of this clan or sub-tribe. Adagegtinge, ) A brook in Davenport, Delaware Co., N. Y., one of the Adagughtingag. i tributaries of the Susquehanna. — Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, pp. 490, 497. Adiquitange. a branch of the Susquehanna river in Kortright, Dela- ware County, N. Y. (probably the same stream named above). — Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers., p. 487. Adirondack. Tree Eaters. A name given in derision to the Algonquins by the Iroquois. — See Colonial Hist. N. Y., vol. IV, p. 899. Adirondack. A once powerful tribe of Indians of this name dwelt along the Canada shore of the St. Lawrence river. According to School- craft the name signifies " Bark-Eaters." It was a detachment of this tribe, headed by two distinguished chiefs Yroquet and Ochasteguin, that accompanied Samuel Champlain in his first voyage of discovery through the lake that bears his name, and fought a battle with a party of Iroquois on the headland at Ticoa- deroga. Aganuschion. " Black mountain range, as the Indians called this Adi- rondac group." — Lossing's Hudson, etc. Vide Aquanuschioni. Agiogochook. The White mountains of New Hampshire, of which the English name is a literal translation. Allnapooknapus. Indian lake in the northern wilderness. — Sabele. Andiatorocte. The place where the lake contracts. A name applied to Lake George. — Dr. 0' Callaghan's New Netherland. AONEO. An island. Onondaga. A term applied by that clan to the whole western continent, which their traditions state was expanded from the shell of a tortoise. — Schoolcraft's Notes, p. 61. VOCABULARY OF INDIAN NAMES. 25 AONTAGILBAN. A creek which empties into Fish creek, Saratoga county. Taken from "map No. 221, of the late Fish creek reservation in 1706."— Sec. of State's office. Apalachian. Endless mountains. — 0' Callaghan, Doc. Hist. iV. Y., II, 702. This is the true Indian name of the great Alleghany range. Aquantjschioni. The united people. A name by which the Iroquois designated themselves. — Drake's Book of the Indians, v, 4. Areyuna. Green rocks. Tupper's lake. — C. F. Hoffman. Vigil of Faith. AsTORENGA. The name of the hills at Little Falls. — Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, 78. Atalapose. a sliding place. Roger's rock on Lake George. The In- dians have a singular superstition, that the witches or evil spirits haunt this place, and seizing upon the spirits of bad Indians, on their way to the happy hunting grounds, slide down the precipitous cliff with them into the lake where they are drowned. — Sahattis. Atatea. (See Cohatatea). A river. The upper Hudson. — Charles Fenno Hoffman. Attigouanton. Lake Huron. — Murray's British America, I, 150. Bontookeese. Little Falls at Luzerne on the Hudson. — Sabele. Cahohatatea. Iroquois. The North or Hudson river. — Dr. Mitchill, quoted in Annals of Albany, ii, 233. Canada. From Kanata, a village. — Dr. F. B. Hough. Josselyn, an early colonial writer, derives this from Can, mouth, and Ada, country. — Drake's Book of the Indians, l, 23. Canarage. The St. Lawrence river. — Macauley's Hist. N. Y., i, 98. Canashagala. An Indian name of a clearing on a south branch of Moose river near Moose lake in Hamilton Co.,N. Y. — Simms's Trappers, 188. Caniaderi Guarunte. a name applied to Lake Champlain. The door or gate of the country. See Canada. — T. Pownal's Map and To- pographical Description. Caniaderi Oit. The tail of the lake i. e., of Lake Champlain. — Ibid. Also Spafford's Gazetteer, p. 200. Cankuskee. North-West bay on Lake George. So named on a Map of the Middle British Provinces, London, 1776. See Ganaouske. Canneogahakalononitade. The Mohawk river. — Dr. Mitchill, Annals of Albany, ii, 233. Canniuskutty. a creek. A tributary of the Delaware river. — Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 501. Catarakoui. Iroquois. Great or big lake (vide Cataraqui). — Colonial Hist. ofN. Y, vol. X, p. 503. Cataraqui. The St. Lawrence river, signifying a fort in the water. Dr. Hough states that Cataroqui, is the ancient name of Kingston, a bank of clay rising out of the waters. — Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, 181. 4 26 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Caughnawaga. Cook the kettle. — Doc. Hist, of N. Y., iii, 1108. The name of one of the Mohawk villages, and afterwards applied to a colony or tribe of praying Indians, converts from the Iroquois. Gallatin in his synopsis supposes it to be derived from Coughnuh- woh her leh, a Mohawk word signifying rapids. Catwanoot. Isola Bella. The residence of the late Col. Ireland in Schroon lake. — Lossing's Hudson, 52. Chatiemac. The stately swan. One of the names of the Hudson. — Schoolcraft, The Indian in his Wigwam, 122. Cheonderoqa. Signifying three rivers, one of the many names of Ticon- deroga. From a map by T. Pownal, 31. P., Land., 1776. Chepontuc. a difl&cult place to climb or get around. An Indian name of Glen's Falls. — Sabattis. Chicopee. a large spring. An Indian name of Saratoga Springs. — Sabattis. Chouendabowa. Clifton Park, Saratoga Co., N. Y. — Catalogue of Maps in State Library, p. 205. Cohatateah. Another Indian name of the Hudson. — A. B. Street. Cohetaba. Iroquois name of the Hudson. — Gordon's Gazetteer of N. T. CoHOES. From Cahoos, a canoe falling. — Brant. Spafford's Gazetteer of N. T., p. 170. Morgan in his League of the L'oquois, has it Gahahoose. CoNGAMMUCK. The lower Saranac lake. — Sabattis. CoNNESTiGUNE. Hence Niskayuna. A field covered with corn. — Gor- don's Gazetteer. CoNNUGHHARiEGUGHnARiE. A great multitude gathered together, Mo- hawk name for Schenectady. — Stone's Life of Bed Jacket, p. 5. Coos or CoWHASS. The white piae. — Dr. Fitch. Applied to a region of country in the northern part of New Hampshire, sometimes named as the upper and lower Coos or pine regions. CORLAR. Lake Champlain was known to the Dutch by this name, and also as the lake of the Iroquois. CosSAYUNA. The lake at our pines. Indian name of a sheet of water in Argyle, N. Y. — Vide Dr. Fitch's Hist. Survey of Washington County, in Trans. N. Y. S. Agricultural Soc. for 1849. , COUCHSACHRAGA. The great dismal wilderness. An Indian term applied to the still wild and unsettled region north of the Mohawk, and west of Lakes Champlain and George. — Pownal' s Topographical Description. CouxSACHRAGA. " Their hunting grounds {i. e. the Iroquois), are first Coxsachraga, a triangle lying on the south-east side of Canada, or St. Lawrence river, bounded eastward by Saragtoga, and the drowned lands ; northward by a line from llegiochue point (on Lake Champlain, or as the Indians call it; Caniaderiguarunte, the VOCABULARY OF INDIAN NAMES. 27 lake that is the gate of the country), through the Cloven rock on the same lake to Oswegatchie or la Gralette ; south-westward by the dwelling land of the Mohawks, Oneidas and Tuscaroras." — Pownal on Colonies^ vol. I, p. 267, Lond., 1774. DiONONDEHOWA. The lower falls on the Battenkill river near and above the devil's caldron, Galesville, N. Y. — Dr. Fitch's Hist. Survey of Washington County. Also see Calendar of Land Titles, p. 204. Erie. " The Agoneaseah (Iroquois), anciently called this Lake Kan-ha- gwa-rah-ka, i. e., a cap, and latterly Erie, Erige, or Erike, which, according to Hennepin signifies Cats-eye." — Macauley's Hist. N. Y. vol. I, p. 119. Morse in his large Geography defines it as the lake of the Cats. GrAiSHTiNic. The Minci name for Albany. — H. R. Schoolcraft. Ganaouske. North West bay on Lake George. — Colonial Hist. N. T., vol. X, p. 600. Judging from analogy, this should mean the battle place by the water side. Ga-na-sa-da-GA, T. The St. Lawrence river. So named on Morgan's map of the Iroquois. — League of the Iroquois. Ganoonoo. The territory comprised in the state of New York. Dr. Hough, in his History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties., has it Ka- nono. The word is Iroquois, and is defined elsewhere as meaning the whole state. GiTCH Igomee. Big Sea Water. The Algonquin name for Lake Supe- rior. — Schoolcraft' s Indian in his Wigwam, p. 303. Glen's Falls, mentioned on a French map by M. de Levy published at Quebec, 1748, by the name of Chute de Quatrevignt, Pds. — Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. I, p. 557. HoCHELAGA. This name was applied by the Algonquins to the site now oc- cupied by Montreal, and also to the St. Lawrence river. Hough suggests its derivation from Oserake, a beaver dam. — Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 181. HoosACK. The place of stones, i. e., a rocky or stony region. — Rutten- her's Indian Tribes, p. 376. It has also been defined as a basin or kettle. Indian tradition states that the last naked bear was killed at this point. HousATONic. A Mohegan compound, probably signifying the valley of the stream beyond the mountain. — H. R. Schoolcraft. HouTKiLL. Dutch name of Wood creek. — Doc. Hist, of iV". Y, vol. II, p. 300. HuNCKSOOCK. The place where everybody fights. A name given by the nomadic Indians of the north to the upper falls on the outlet of Lake George. — Sabattis. Huron. A French appellation bestowed upon the lake bearing this name and also to the tribe of Wyandots living on its banks. — Schoolcraft. 28 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Incapahceo. Lindenmere or the lake of basswoods. The Indian name of Long lake. — The Vigil of Faith hy C. F. Hoffman. Irocosia. The land of the Iroquois. Northern New York. This term frequently recurs on the older maps and charts of the state. Irondequoit. Derived from a Mohawk term signifying an opening into or from a lake. — Colonial History N. Y., vol. ix, p. 261. Kahcheboncook. The Big Falls on the Hudson, known as Jessup's falls. — Sabele. Kahchoquahna. The place where they dip fish. An Indian term ap- plied to the head of Lake Champlain, the site of the present vil- lage of Whitehall. — Gordon's Gazetteer iV. T., p. 758. Kaniadarosseras. Hence Kayaderosseras, the lake country. — Colonial Hist. N. Y., vol. VII, p. 436. Kaskongshadi. Broken water, a swift rapid on the Opalescent river. — Jjossing's Hudson, p. 33. Kayaderoga. a name of Saratoga lake. — Butler's Lake George, etc. Kayaderosseras. A name applied to a large patent or land grant, a stream and a range of mountains in Saratoga county, N. Y. In the Calendar of N. P". ia«c? Papers, it is variously written Caniader- osseros, Caneaderosseras, Kanyaderossaros, Cayaderosseras. In a letter to the author from the late Judge Hay, he says " Geo Gr. Scott informs me that his father always stated that Kayader- osseras being interpreted meant the crooked stream, which de- scribes it." Kennyetto. The Indian name of the little Sacandaga or Vlaie creek, a tributary of the Sacandaga. — Simms's Trappers of N^ew York. KiLLOQUAH. Rayed like the sun. Racket lake. From the Mohawk. Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman. KiNGiAQUAHTONEC. A portage of a stone's throw or two in length be- tween Wood creek and Fort Edward creek, near Moss street in Kingsbury. — Evans's Analysis, p. 19. KiTCHiGAMMiNK. Great lake. — Gallatin's Synopsis. See Gitch-Igomee. Mahakaneghtuc. The Mohegan name of the Hudson. — Br. Mitchill, quoted in MunselVs Annals of Albany, vol. ll, p. 233. The name is given by numerous authorities with many varieties of spelling. Mais Tchuseag. Massachusetts ? " The country on this side of the hills." — T. Pownal's Top. Descrip. N. America, Land., 1776. Mammacotta. Dividing the waters, hence Mamacating in Sullivan county. — Gordon's Gazetteer JV. Y, p. 719. Massachusett. a hill in the form of an arrow-head. — John Cotton as quoted in Drake's Book of the Indians. Mastaqua. The largest or longest river. A name applied to the Racket river. — Sabattis. VOCABULARY OF INDIAN NAMES. 29 Matteawan. Derived from Metai, a magician or medicine man, and wian, a skin, the region of charmed furs or peltries. A term applied to the highlands of the Hudson. — Brodhead's N. T., p. 75. . Messachibie. Mississippi ? The father of rivers. — T. Pownal's Top. Descrtp. iV! America. Mettowee. Indian name of the Pawlet river. Wash. Co., N. Y. — Fitch's Hist. Survey. Miconacook. a name of the Hudson river. — Sahele. MiNi-SoTAH. Turbid waters, hence Minnesota. — Drake's Book of the Indians. Mississippi. The whole river. — Gallatin's Synopsis. Mohawk, from Mauqua or Mukwa, a bear. — Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, p. 73. Mohegan. Mahegan, an Indian term signifying a wolf. — Col. Hist. iV. Y., vol. IX, p. 38. MoospoTTENWACHO. Thunder's nest. Indian name for Crane's mount- ain, in the western part of, and the highest peak in Warren county. — Sahele. MuHHAAKUNNUK. A great water or se» that is constantly in motion either ebbing or flowing. Hence the word Mohican, the name of the Stockbridge Indians. — Hoyt's Antiquarian Researches. Nachassickquaack. A point above the falls on the Hoosick river. — New York Cal. of Land Papers, p. 27. Naohtenack. Waterford on the Hudson. — Ruttenher's Tribes, e^c, p. 399. Niagara. From Ohniagahra, a neck or strait. — Spafford's Gazetteer of N. Y., p. 219. Goldsmith in his Miscellaneous Works, vol. IV, p. 39, note, defines it as meaning thunder waters. NiSKAYUNA. From Canestagione. The great corn country or place. — Ruttenher's Tribes of the Hudson's River, p. 398. See also vol. IV, p. 906, Col. Hist. N Y, where it is spelled Canastagiowne and defined as the great maize land. Ohio. The beautiful river. — Schoolcraft, the Indian in his Wigwam, p. 20. From Oyo the beautiful river. — Kip's Jesuit Missions. See also Col. Hist. N Y, viii, 117 and ix, 76, where lo is found to signify great or beautiful. OiOGUE. The Indian (Mohawk) name of the Hudson north of Albany. — Hist, of New Netherland, II, 300. Oneadalote Tecarneodi. The name of Lake Champlain on Morgan's map. Ondawa. White creek, Washington county, N. Y. Onderiguegon. The Indian name for the drowned lands on Wood creek near Fort Ann, Washington county, N. Y. It signifies conflux of waters. — From a Map of the Middle British Colonies by T. Pow- nal, M. P., 1776. 30 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Onqwehonwe. a people surpassing all others. The name by which the Iroquois designated themselves, Onigarawantel. According to Schoolcraft the original name of Sche- nectady. According to Dr. Mitchill the rendering should be Ohnowalagantle. — Vide Annals of Albany, li, 233. Ontario " or Cataraqui. The beautiful lake." — T. PownaVs Top. De- scrip. N. A., p. 31. See also Col. Hist., Ix, 16, where it is trans- lated beautiful lake, and ix, 76 where it is rendered Great lake. Hough makes it Onontario, which would change the meaning to Mountain lake. Orongughharie. a great multitude collected together. The site of the city of Schenectady, originally a seat of the Mohawks. — Gordon's Gazetteer of New York. Ossaragas. Wood creek, emptying into the head of Lake Champlain. — Top. Descrip. of the Middle British Colonies, Map, T. Pownal, 1776. OsWEGATCHiE, or Oghswagatchie with a dozen other different spellings. " An Indian name," the historian James Maoauley, informed the author, "which &\^n\^Q^ going or coming round a hill. The great bend in the Oswegatchie river (or the necessity of it), on the borders of Lewis county, originated its significant name. An In- dian tribe bearing the name of the river, once lived upon its banks ; but its fate, like that of many sister tribes, has been to melt away before the progression of the Anglo-Saxon." — Simms's Trappers of N. Y., p. 249, note. According to a writer in the Troy Times of July 7th, 1866, it is a Huron word signifying black water. Sabattis defined it as meaning slow and long. Otsiketa. Lake St. Clair. — PownaVs Map of Middle British Provinces, 1776. OuKORLAH. Indian name of Mount Seward, signifying the big-eye. — C. F. Hoffman. OuNOWARLAH. Scalp mountain. Supposed to refer to that peak of the Adirondacks known as Whiteface mountain. — C. F. Hoffman in The Vigil of Faith. Owerihowet. Indian name applied to a creek, a branch of the Susque- hanna. — Calendar N. Y. Land Papers, p. 501. Paanpaack. The Indian name for the locality covered by the city of Troy. — O'Callaghan's New Netherland, I, 180. Pangaskolink. Griens Falls, N. Y. — Sabele. Papaquanetuck. The river of Cranberries. One of the names of the Ausable river. — Sabattis. Paskongammuc. Pleasant or beautiful lakes. A term applied to the three Saranac lakes. — Sabattis. Pattougammuck. The middle Saranac lake. — Sabattis. VOCABULARY OF INDIAN NAiMES. 31 Peeleeweemowquesepo. The Black river. The stream that separates the Mohawk from the St. Lawrence river. — Hough's Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties. Pempotawuthut. The place of fire, or fire place of the nation. The pre- sent site of Albany, and once the chief seat of the Mohegan tribe. — Hoyt's Antiquarian Researches. Petaonbough. " A double pond or lake branching out into two." An Indian name of Lake Champlain, which refers probably to its con- nection with Lake George. — R, W. Livingston, quoted in Watson's Hist. Essex Co., N. Y. Petowahco. Lake Champlain. — Sahele. Petaquapoen. Indian term applied to the site of Greenbush opposite Albany. — Euttenher's Indian Tribes, p. 375. PiSECO. An aboriginal name for a lake of considerable magnitude in Hamilton Co., N. Y. " The Indians speak it as though written Pe-sic-o ; giving a hissing sound to the second syllable. It is derived from pisco a fish, and therefore signifies fish lake. — John Dunham. Piseco, says Spafford in his Gazetteer of New York, and which he spells Pezeeko, is so called after an old Indian hermit who dwelt upon its shores." — Simnis's Trappers of New York,^. IQ"^, note. Snhattis says that it was called after an Indian bearing that name. PiTTOWBAQONK. Lake Champlain. The dividing waters between the east and west and north of the Hudson. — Sahattis. PoPQUASSlC. Indian name'of Lansingburgh. — Euttenher's Indian Tribes, p. 375. QuEQUiCKE. The falls on the Hoosick river. — Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 27. QuONEHTiQUOT. Loug rivcr. Corrupted to Connecticut. — Morse's Uni- versal Geography. Raquette. " The chief source of the Raquette is in the Raquette lake towards the western part of Hamilton county. Around it, the Indians in the ancient days gathered on snow shoes in winter, to hunt the moose then found there in large droves, and from that circumstance they named it Raquet, the equivalent in French for snow shoes in English. This is the account of the origin of its name given by the French Jesuits who first explored that region. Others say that its Indian name Ni-ha-na-wa-le, means a racket or noise, noisy river, and spell it Racket. But it is no more noisy than its near neighbor the Grass river which flows into the St. Lawrence from the bosom of the same wilderness." — Lossing's Hudson, p. 11. RoTSiiCHNi. An Indian name of Lake Champlain signifying the cow- ard spirit. An evil spirit, according to the legend, whose ex- istence terminated on an island in Lake Champlain. The name was thence derived to the lake. 32 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Sacandaqa, Sagendage, Sackondaga, Sackondago, Sacondaga, Sacondago, Sachondage, Sachendaga ( Vide Galendar of N. Y. Land Papers) ; " is an aboriginal word, which signifies," as the Indians assured Godfrey Shew, much water. Capt. Gill, an Indian hunter, said it meant sunken or drowned lands. — Simms's Trappers of New York, p. 42. In Spafford's Gazetteer of New York, p. 89, it is defined as a swamp, and asserted to be derived from the Oneida dialect. Sanahagoq. The Indian name of Rensselaerswyck. — 0' Callaghan's Hist. Neio Netherland, I, 122. Sanatatea. The Hudson river. — Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, p. 69. Sand anon A. A mountain near Lake Henderson in the Adirondacks. — The Vigil of Faith hy C. F. Hoffman. Saratoga. Vide General Index to documents relating to the history of the state of New York for seventeen different spellings of this word. See also Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, where it is found spelled Saragtoga, Saraghtoga, Saraghtogue, etc. Morgan renders it on his map in the League of the Iroquois Sharlatoga. Hough, in the Hist, of JSt. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, has it Saratake, while Ruttenher, in his Indian tribes of the Hudson, on what au- thority is not stated, derives it from Saragh, salt, and Oga a place, though he adds that " the name was originally applied to the site of Schuylerville, and meant swift water," an assertion which greatly impairs the value of the preceding statement. Gordon, in his Gazetteer of New York, p. 671, derives the word from Sah-ra-kah, meaning the great hill side, and states that it was applied to the country between the lake and the Hudson river. An anonymous writer in the Troy Times of July 7, 1866, defines it as a place where the track of the heel may be seen. SCHAGHTICOKE. In Spafford's Gazetteer, p. 293, this is derived from Scaughwank and defined as a sand slide, with the statement that the final syllable cook was added by the Dutch. O'Callaghan in his works, quotes about twenty-five different spellings of the word. Ruttenber derives it from Pishgachticook a Mohican appelative meaning the confluence of two streams, and applied to the Indian village at the mouth of the Hoosick, and also to a settlement on the Housatonic. — Indian Tribes of the Hudson, p. 195. Gordon derives it from Scacoghwank and gives it the same signification as Spafford. — Gazetteer, p. 645. SouENECHTADT. Various spellings. The aboriginal name of Albany, " which signifies the place the natives of the Iroquois arrived at by traveling through the pine trees." — Dr. 3Iitchill, quoted in MunselVs Annals of Albany, ii, 333. Hough, ut supra, makes it Skanatati, VOCABULARY OP INDIAN NAMES. 33 " on the other side of the pinea." Stone, in his Life of Red Jacket, p, 5, writes it Scaghnacktada, beyond the pine plains. Spafford translates it, " over the pines." — Gazetteer, p. 100. ScHBNEGHTADB. Bejond (or at the other side of) the door. — Ool. Hist. N. Y., vol. 2, p. 594. SOHODACK, " A derivation from the Mohegan word ischoda," a meadow, or fire plain. This was anciently the seat of the council fire of the Mohegans upon the Hudson. They extended their villages along the eastern bank of the stream as high as Lansingburgh, and their hunting grounds occupied the entire counties of Columbia and Rensselaer. — Lossing's Hudson, p. 102. ScHROON from Skaghnetaghrowahna, or " the largest lake." — Gordon's Gazetteer, p. 453. Written " Scaroon " on some of the earlier maps, and it has been alleged, on what seems a very slender foun- dation, that the name was conferred in the latter part of the 17th century by a wandering party of Frenchmen in honor of Madame de Maintenon the wife of the poet Scarron. ScowAROCKA. The Indian name of the northern termination of " Maxon- hill," Greenfield, N. Y. — Simms's Trappers of New York. Senhahlone The village of Plattsburgh. — Sahattis. Senongewok. A hill like an inverted kettle, familiarly known as " the Potash," on the east side of the Hudson river about four miles north of Luzerne village, Warren Co., N. Y. — Vigil of Faith hy G. F. Hoffman. Shanandhoi. Indian name of Clifton park. — Laws of New York, 1795. Shatemuck. The Mohegan name of the Hudson river. — Washington Irving. Believed to be derived from a word meaning pelican. The name was applied to the Hudson below Dutchess county. — H. R. Schoolcraft. Sheepshaak. An Indian name of Lansingburgh. — Ruttenher's Indian Tribes, p. 375. Shegwiendawkwe. a cascade on the Opalescent river, signifying "the hanging spear." — Lossing's Hudson, p. 32. Shenondehowa. Ranging in a north line from Schenectady river, and adjoining the easternmost bounds of Nastigiuna Patent (Clifton Park, Sar. Co., N. Y.).— iV". Y. Calendar of Land Papers, p. 82. SiNHALONEiNNEPUS. Large and beautiful lake. A term applied to the upper Saranac lake. — Sahattis. Skanehtadb, Gt. The west branch of the Hudson river and the river generally. — Morgan's map in the League of the Iroquois. Skanadario. Lake Ontario. A very pretty lake. — Frontenac, a Poem hy Alfred B. Street. Skmowahco. Schroon river. — Sabele. 34 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Sknoonapus. Schroon lake. — Sabele. Squinanton. Cumberland head on Lake Champlain. — Calendar of K. Y. Land Papers, p. 474. Taescameasick. Indian name for the site of Lansingburgh. — Ruttenher's Indian Tribes, p. 375. Tahawas. Mount Marcy, Essex Co., N. Y. The highest peak in the state. " He splits the sky.'"— The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoff- man. Takundewide. Indian name of Harris's bay on Lake George. So called on a Tnap of the Middle British Provinces by T. Pownal, M. P., Lond., 1776. Tawalsontha. The Norman's kill, a little below Albany — 0' Callaghan's New Netherlands vol. I, p. 78. Otherwise called Towasentha which is " an abbreviation of Toowasentha, the Mohawk word for falls." — Gallatin^s Synopsis. Tawassagunshee. The Lookout hill. An elevation within two miles of Albany, where the Dutch erected a trading post before Fort Orange was built. — Barber^ s Hist. Coll., p. 46. Teckyadough Nigarige. The Indian name for the narrows between Ticonderoga and Crown Point, forming the entrance to the lake proper. — T. PownaVs Top. Descrip. of N. A., Lond., 1776. On a map in the same work it is defined as " two points opposite to each other," and applied to Fort St. Frederick, now Crown Point. It is quite probable that the much discussed word Ticonderoga is derived from this term. Tenonanatchie. a river flowing through a mountain. A name applied, to the Mohawk river by the western tribes. — H. R. Schoolcraft. Teohoken. The pass where the Schroon finds its confluence with the Hudson river. — The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoff'man. See also Col. Hist. N ¥., vol. VII, p. 10, where it is defined as the forks of a river. Ticonderoga. There are about twenty renderings of the orthography of this word, and wide diiferences of meaning assigned to it. Those most worthy of acceptance are given herewith. Tienderoga. " The proper name of the fort between Lake George and Lake Champlain signifies the place where two rivers meet" — Colden's Account of N. Y., Col. Hist.N. Y., VII, 795. " Tiaontoroken, a fork or point between two lakes" — Hough! s Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 181. Morgan, on his map, frequently referred to herein, spells it " Je hone ta lo ga," Teahtontaloga and Teondeloga are both defined as " two streams coming together." The sound and structure of the three words are similar. The definition given by Colden is doubtless correct. VOCABULARY OF INDIAN NAMES. 35 TiQHTiLLiGAGHTiKOOK. The south branch of the Batten kill. — Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, 303. TiosARONDA. The meeting of the waters. The confluence of the Sacan- daga with the Hudson. — The Vigil of Faith hy C. F. Hoffman. ToMHENACK. A creek in the town of Cambridge, Washington county, N. Y. — Calendar of N. T. Land Papers, p. 290. ToowARLOONDAH. The Hill of Storms, Mt. Emmons. — The Vigil of Faith, C F. Hoffman. TuscAMEATic. Indian name for Greenbush, opposite Albany, N. Y. — 0' Callaghan's Hist. New Netherland, vol. I, p. 380. Wahcoloosencoochaleva. Fort Edward. — Sahele. Wahopartenie. Whiteface mountain. — C. F. Hoffman. Wahpole Sinegahu. The portage from the Upper Saranac lake to the Racket river. — Sahattis. Wawkwaonk. The head of Lake George, Caldwell. — Sahele. WoMPACHOOKGLENOSUCK. Whitehall, Wash. Co., N. Y. — Sahele. CIVIL LIST OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. N. B. — The names embraced in this catalogue, are of those orUy, who have been at some period residents of the town of Queetisbury. UNITED STATES CIRCUIT JUDGE. Emmons, Halmer H., (a) — 1870. UNITED STATES MINISTER TO SPAIN. Sickles, Daniel E., (6) — 1869. (a) Son of Adonijah and Hakriet S. Emmons, was born on the 22d of Novem- ber, 1813, in the older portion of the dwelling now owned and occupied by J. W. Finch, Esq. The elder Emmons was a lawyer, editor and postmaster, and an active, influential politician of the bucktail school, also a man of more than ordi- nary mental calibre and abihty. He was charged with the authorship of the calumnies which reflected so severely upon the public life and character of De Witt Clinton, and incurred the oaium and hostility resulting therefrom. Later on, he removed to Sandy Hill, where, in 1825, he engaged in the publication of a partisan sheet called The Sandy Hill Sun, which afterwards became the rabid organ of the anti masonic party. In early youth the son went to Essex Co., N. Y., where he commenced the study of law in the ofiice of Judge Ross. Following the tide of emigration, the family, in 1838, went west, and settled in Detroit, Mich., where father and son formed a legal copartnership, and at once opened upon a large and remunerative practice. The death of the elder Emmons in 1843, left the younger to make his own way unaided, from triumph to triumph, through a series of cases involving large inte- rests and widely extended relations, to the very summit of professional eminence and success. (6) Son of George G. Sickles whose name appears in the town records for the year 1832, and who carried on the mercantile business in the stone store vmder the hill, from 1831 to 1834. He afterwards removed to New York, where he opened a broker's oflice. The son is remembered by many of the older residents of the village as a bright, active, and somewhat unruly lad, who dominated over his playmates, and gave early promise of a brilliant and controlling mind. He removed with his father to New York, about the year 1835, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and for many years thereafter was known as one of the Tam- many leaders, and an active, indomitable partisan. Was elected to the Assembly in 1847, to the Senate in 1856-7, and from 1857 to '61 represented the third New York district in the xxxvth and xxxvith Congress. It was during the first term of his congressional service that he obtained an unenviable notoriety by the assassination of Philip Barton Key. At the outbreak of the rebellion in 1861 , he lent CIVIL LIST. 37 UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER OF SOUTHERN CLAIMS. Ferriss, Orange, — , 1871. REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. Ferriss, Orange,— 1867-9,-1869-71. xl and xli Congress. Martindale, Henry C.i— 1823-5,— 1825-7,— 1827-9,— 1829-31',— 1833-5, xviii-xix-xx-xxi-and xxiii. Congress. Russell, Joseph, 1845-7,— 1851-3,— xxix,— and xxxii, Congress. Sickles, Daniel E.,2 1857-9,— 1859-61,— xxxv— and xxxvi Con- gress. COLLECTORS OF INTERNAL REVENUE. Cheritbee, Andrew J., — , 1372. Faxon, Walter A., — , 1862. Cunningham, John L., — , 1866. Rockwell, William W., — , 1869. DEPUTY COLLECTORS. Cunningham, John L., — , 1867. Johnson, Emmett, — , 1867. Faxon, Charles H., — , 1862. Broughton, Charles H.,— , 1873. HoTCHKiss, William, — , 1869. ASSISTANT ASSESSORS. Briggs, William, — , 1862. Goodman, Stephen L., — , 1869. N. B. — The oflSices of Assessor and Assistant were abolished May, 1873. an active and cordial support to the government and was largely instrumental in raising the famous Excelsior Brigade. He and his command won distinguished honors in many severe engagements. He was several times wounded, and lost his leg in a daring charge made at the battle of Gettysburg, of which great and important action, he has been justly styled the hero. He was promoted succes- sively to the position of division and corps commander, and was one of the few civilians who attained the distinction of a major general's commission. After the termination of the war, he again became conspicuous in the arena of politics, aid- ing largely in the election of Gen. Grant in the heated political contest of 1868. As a recognition of his distinguished abilities and services, he received the follow- ing year the appointment of minister to Spain. After the Revolution and the decla- ration of the Spanish Republic, Gen. Sickles very ably represented our government and people in recognizing the new order of things. In consequence of the Cuban complications, he has recently resigned his position ; and his return home will doubtless be welcomed by fresh honors and successes. > Elected from the Eighteenth Congressional District ; Judge Martindale being then a resident of Sandy Hill. ^ Elected from the Third Congressional District, city of New York. 38 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. Clark, Billy J., (a). Cool, Keyes P., Morgan, Alonzo W., MoTT, Isaac, — , 1848 Pettit, Micajah, — , 1808. — , 1840. (Appointed), — , 1864. Sheldon, N. Edson (6), — , 1860. — 1872. (a) Billy J., son of Ithamar and Sarah (Simonds) Clark, was born at Nortli- ampton, Mass., on the fourth of January, 1778. About the year 1784 his parents removed to Williamstown, Mass., where, for three or four years he enjoyed the benefits of that public school founded by the munificence of Col. Williams, who fell in action at " the bloody morning scout." At the age often he removed with his parents to Pownal, Vt., where his youth, up to the time of his father's death, was passed in the varied avocations of farm boy, clerk and bar-tender. His medical studies were commenced at the age of seven- teen in the office of Dr. Gibbs of Pownal, where he was soon charac- terized as a pains-taking, indefatiga- ble student. In 1797 he removed to Easton, Washington Co., N. Y., where his studies were continued in the oflSce of Dr. Lemuel Wicker, a practitioner at that time of exten- sive repute and practice. Having obtained the requisite tes- timonials, and passed the necessary examinations, he obtained a license from the county judge of Washington county to practice medicine. He commenced his life work in the town of Moreau, Saratoga Co., N. Y., in 1799, where, for forty years, he was the only physician, and supplied a radius of country nearly twenty miles in extent, following the humanities of his calling, achieving a well earned reputation for usefulness, and that by the popu- larly appreciated gauge of success, a substantial competency. Dr. Clark's name will be famous through all time as the originator of the first temperance organization that ever existed. The date of this important event was in the early part of April, 1808. In this field of philanthropy, the doctor was an ardent and efficient laborer all his life. He represented his county in the assembly in 1820, and, as above appears was a member of the New York Electoral College in 1848. He died in this village on the 20th of September, 1866. Through his energy and perseverance, a special act of legislature was obtained, incorporating the Saratoga County Medical Society, the first organization of the kind in the state. (&) Nathaniel Edson Sheldon was the youngest of ten children, the offspring of Job and Joanna C. (Trippe) Sheldon, who migrated from Cranston, R. I., to 7^C">^V U Ky\i hj^ CIVIL LIST. 39 LIST OF POSTMASTERS AT GLEN'S FALLS, (a) Briggs, Jabez, appointed BuELL, Horatio, " Emmons, Adonijah, " Ferriss, John A., " 5th Marchi, 1835. 8tli October, 1818. 13th April, 1816. 1st January 1808. Barnet, Vt., wliere the subject of this sketcli was born on tlie 28tli of September, 1804. The family record bears the following names back to the original immi- grant, viz. : Job, the grandfather, who was the son of Pardon, the son of Nicholas, the son of John, the son of John, one of three brothers who came to this country from Warwickshire, England, in 1634, who settled in Pawtuxet, R. I., from whom the numerous descendants have diverged and settled in almost every state and territory in the union. While in early youth, Dr. Sheldon's father removed to Delhi, Delaware Co., N. Y. Here he received the advantages of a good common school education, and being baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal church, commenced studying for orders in that communion. We are not advised as to the causes which led to a change of pursuit in life, but shortly after we find him prosecuting the study of medicine with Dr. Lang in the city of New York, in one of whose colleges he graduated about the year 1831. After receiving his diploma, he was appointed ward physician in one of the worst and hardest districts of the city. During the cholera season of 1832 he saw and reported the first case of that terrible scourge in the city. His superiors scouted the idea. The next morning seven more were down with disease and three dead bodies in the building. A medical commission which had been dispatched to Canada to investigate the disease, on examination confirmed his diagnosis, and he was awarded the credit due to his discrimination and good judgment. At the end of the season he was presented with a massive silver pitcher, which remains as an heir-loom in the family, upon which is engraved the following inscription : " Presented by the Board of Health of the City of New York to N. Edson Shel- don, M. D., for professional services gratuitously rendered to the poor of the Second Ward during the prevalence of the cholera, A. D., 1832." The following year he removed to Glen's Falls and embarked in practice, and notwithstanding a sharp and sometimes acrimonious competition, he soon suc- ceeded in acquiring a fair proportion of the patronage ; the population of the vil- lage and town being less than one-fourth what it is to-day. For nearly twenty years, and until his voluntary retirement from professional cares, he held the position of a first class practitioner, and the reputation of more than ordinary success. Even later his professional brethren, in token of respect, elected him president of the County Medical Society. While pursuing his medical studies, a young English lady, named Elizabeth Goodwin Olive, stopped for a few days' visit at his preceptor's while on her way with an uncle, a clergyman of the church of England, to Canada. A romantic attachment sprang up between them, and in May, 1834, they were married. She died on the 30th of December, 1840. On the 3d of October, 1842, he was again married to Abigal T., daughter of the late John A. Ferriss, Esq. Soon after, he engaged in the drug and medicine trade, and by strict attention and assiduity he built up a large and remunerative business, and for years has been considered one of the leading and successful business men of the place. For a large proportion 40 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Ferriss, John A., appointed llth December, 1823. Freeman, Jonathan W., " 25th March, 1841. Harris, Hiram M., " 27th June, 1860. Kenworthy, John L., " 27th March, 1861. Morgan, Carlos, " 16th June, 1863. Since twice re-appointed, and the present incumbent. Paddock, Ira A., " 17th December, 1829. Palmeter, James, '* 9th May, 1845. of his life, Dr. Sheldon has been known as an active and influential politician. Originally a democrat, he with many others came out in 1838 in opposition to that party, and for many years his office was the rallying place and centre where poli- ticians arranged the local affairs of both the whig and republican parties. In the exciting and important campaign of 1860, whose events culminated in our late civil war, he was chosen one of the electors of the Empire State, and cast his vote for the first term of service of the martyred and lamented Lincoln. In 1866 he was appointed by the governor, one of the Board of Trustees of the New York State Institution for the Bhnd at Binghamton. In the exciting cam- paign of last fall, feeling that his name was a tower of strength to his party, he was nominated and elected county treasurer, a position which his failing health compelled him to resign early in the present year. Dr. Sheldon was public-spirited, and has always contributed to the development and advancement of the place. He has been from the first a stockholder and director in the Glen's Falls and Lake George Plank Road Company, and for many years its secretary. He was also for a long time one of the trustees of the Glen's Falls Academy. Conspicuous, however, above all other traits of character, was his sterling honor and integrity. In the language of one wlio knew him intimately and well, " he would not have done an unjust, dishonest or fraudulent act to save his life." He died suddenly at his residence in Glen's Falls, on the 3d of July, 1878. (o) It appears from the records of the post office department, that the first post office was established at Glen's Falls on the first of January, 1808. Previous to this date the nearest post office was at Sandy Hill, whither the inhabitants of this place were obliged to resort for postal privileges. The first Assistant Postmaster General, St. John B. L. Skinner, who kindly fur- nished the list, imparted the following information. " In examining the old books, some doubt has arisen whether " Glenville " was not the original name ; but, as no change of name is found, it is presumed that Glen's Falls was estab- lished, or commenced rendering 1st January, 1808. Unfortunately, the fire which destroyed the building in 1836, consumed three of the oldest books, which makes it difficult to trace the exact date of many of the old offices ; but this is believed to be correct." I may add that this statement is corroborated by the recollection of several per- sons, among whom may be mentioned the late Abraham Wing, and Judge Hay. The first post office was established in a wooden building erected and first occupied as a store by Judge Hay's father on the south-east corner of Warren and Glen streets. The site is now occupied as a clothing store by Messrs. Pearsall and Cooledge. In a communication from Judge Hay, it is stated that, "at the time of Emmons' appointment, James Henderson became postmaster at the Oneida, but whether he was the first postmaster appointed there I know not." I have not succeeded in obtaining the statistics of the Queensbury or French Mountain post offices. -J > i CIVIL LIST. 41 Peck, Daniel, (a) appointed Tth July, 1856. Peck, William, " llth April, 1853. Peck, William, " 21st February,i 1856. (a) The subject of this sketch is a representative man, and descendant of one of the oldest lisunilies of the town. He is the son of Hermon, and Martha (Ken- worthy) Peck, and was born in the village of Glen's Falls on the 25th of February, 1831. William Peck, the pioneer of the family in this country was born in Lon- don, Eng., in 1601. With his wife Elizabeth, and his then only son Jeremiah, he emigrated to this country in the ship Hector, arriving at Boston, 26th June, 1837, in the company of Gov. Eaton, Rev. John Davenport and others, and waa one of the founders of the New Haven colony, in the spring of 1638. He was a merchant by occupation, a man of high standing in the colony, and a deacon of the church in New Haven from 1659 to 1694 when he died. His son, the Rev. Jeremiah Peck, was the first teacher of the Colony Collegiate School in New Haven, and afterwards settled minister at Saybrook, Conn., in the fall of 1661, in Elizabethtown, N. J., in 1670, in Greenwich, Conn., in 1674, and in Water- bury, Conn., in 1690, where he died in 1699 in his 77th year. His son Samuel settled in Greenwich, Conn., where all his children were born.* Hia grandson, Peter, the son of Peter, one of nine sons, was the pioneer of the family in Queensbury. He was the oldest of six children, and was born in Greenwich, Conn., in January, 1746. The father dying in 1759, his mother with her little family removed to New Milford, Conn., where on the 7th of December, 1768, Peter married Sarah, daughter of Paul Terrill. He with his family removed to Queens- bury in 1786,' settled on the Ridge road about a mile from " the corners," where he remained until his decease, June 17th, 1813. According to the family tradition, the family were two weeks on the route ; the boys trudging along afoot, driving two yokes of oxen attached to strong, rude wagons, loaded with household stuff, while the father rode on horseback. They brought along with them a large, powerful watch dog, which one night, soon after their arrival was destroyed and eaten by wolves, troops of which then found their covert in the big Cedar swamp. At that time there were only three dwellings at Glen's Falls, a foot path to the Ridge, and a rude wagon road up Bay street as far as the log Quaker church by the Half-way brook. Peter Peck had three sons all of whom were bom in New Milford, Conn., viz : Reuben, Daniel, and Edmund. Reuben, the eldest, was born 8th February, 1772, and married 1st, Tryphena Bishop, and 2d, Jane Haight. Hermon, his eldest child, was born 19th of April, 1800, and married 1st, Nancy Quin in 1825 ; 2d, Martha Kenworthy in 1830. Seven children were the fruit of this. union of whom Daniel is the eldest. Hermon died at Glen's Falls, 27th July, 1865. A few seasons at the district school, four terms at the Glen's Falls Academy, and at the early age of thirteen, we find the subject of this sketch, with true Yankee grit and perseverance, at work on a farm for small wages to be sure, in Sandgate Vt. At the age of sixteen he went to Union Village, where for six months he was employed in the manufacture of tin- ware. He returned home, and was sent by his father to run and manage a saw-mill of four gates on the Sacandaga river, at what is now known as Conklinville, Saratoga Co., N. Y. Here he re- mained for four years, during which time he had accumulated nearly a thousand dollars by overwork of the roughest kind. He then returned to the paternal roof. • At this date the oflBce became " Presidential," and the same incumbent wag re-appointed. 2 From the Peck Genealogy by Ira B. Peck, Boston, 1868. 8 Prom Darius Peck, Esq.. of Hudson, N. Y., who has compiled and nearly completed another Genealogical Record of the Peck family. 6 42 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Philo, Henry, Vaughn, Eleazer S., Williams, Stephen I., appointed 7th June, 1843. " 21st September, 1848. " 3d May, 1849. and for a year or more was employed as a clerk in his father's hardware store. At the end of that period, being little more than twenty-one years of age, he bought out his father's store, enlarged the business, importing a portion of his stock from England directly and with characteristic enterprise, built up a large and flourishing business. To this, as is seen above, was added the cares and responsi- bilities of a large post office in 1856, which continued for four years. In 1860, Mr. Peck disposed of his business to De Long & Son, and in the latter part of the same year, embarked with his cousin Charles Peck in a lumber, grain and feed trade for which a new store was erected by them. They were burnt out in the great conflagation of May, 1864, when Daniel alone suffered a loss of upwards of twenty thousand dollars. In less than a week, and while the charred ruins were yet smoking, he had bought out his partner, and established a street bazar for the sale of grain and lumber. During the season he rebuilt the store, and continued in the trade for a year, when he formed a co-partnership with Mr. Frank Byrne, to carry on the wholesale and jobbing grocery business on the north corner of Glen and Ridge streets. PiiCK & delong's store.' Bringing to this enterprise, the same tact, energy and judgment, which has characterized his efforts through life, the undertaking was attended with un- precedented success. A new store, one of the finest in the place, was erected and completed the following season. Here for eight years was conducted the largest > The building in the distAnce is the new engine house, erected in 1865. Here two of the hose companies of the corporation, liold their meetings, and keep their truclis and paraphernalia. For- mer^ the building was used by the Cataract, and Jerome Lapham fire companies. f^ CIVIL LIST. 43 JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. RosEKEANS, Enoch H., (a) 1855-71. Two terms. grocery establisliment north of the cities, the sales averaging for that time half a million of dollars annually. The establishment is now conducted by H. P. Peck (a brother of Daniel's) and C. J. De Long, and it continues to be the leading grocery concern of the place. For the last two years, Mr. Peck, in conjunction with his partners, Messrs. Byrne, Keenan and Wing, have been engaged in developing a large and pro- mising lime interest at Smith's basin, on the Northern canal. Tlie products of this manufacture for the current season 1873 have been up- wards of fifty thousand barrels. Mr. Peck has served a term as county treasurer ; has been several times elected treasurer of the corporation of Glen's Falls. He has also been chosen trustee of the village three or four times, and has served one year as president of the village. Mr. Peck is a gentleman of great public spirit, liberality and energy ; is yet in the prime and vigor of life, with a future full of promise, and pregnant with hopes yet to be realized. («) Enoch Huntingdon Rosekrans is a descendant on the mother's side from the widely distinguished Huntingdon family of Connecticut, which has produced so many brilliant ornaments of the pulpit, the bar, and the army. The name was originally written Rosakrans, signifying a garland of roses. His grandfather, Benjamin Rosecrantz's name appears in the New York Civil List as a member of assembly from Saratoga county, in 1792. The family was of German or rather Dutch extraction, and originally settled in Dutchess county. E. H. Rosekrans was the son of Benjamin and Esther (Huntingdon) Rosekrans, and was born at Waterford, N. T., on the 16th of October, 1808. The father was a merchant of that place. The childhood and youth of the subject of this sketch were passed under the parental roof. When about six years old, he went to live with his maternal uncle, the late distinguished lawyer and advocate. Judge Samuel G. Huntingdon of Troy, N. Y. His preparatory education was acquired at the Lansingburgh Academy, then quite a noted seminary of learning. He entered Union College, junior class — graduated in July, 1836 with honors — studied law with his uncle, above named, with whom, after being admitted to the bar in October, 1839, he remained in partnership a couple of years. Settled at Glen's Falls in 1831, was married at Saratoga Springs on the 14th of June the following year to Caroline, daughter of Miles and Cynthia (Warren) Beach. Was admitted to the bar as counselor in 1833, and about the same time received the appointment of Supreme Court Commissioner, and Master in Chancery. The remainder of his ofiBcial services are of record in the Civil List. In 1867 the degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by his Alma Mater. Possessed of rare intellectual gifts, great personal magnetism, keen discrimination and incisive argumentative abilities, he has always held a front rank at the bar, and on the bench has invariably com- manded the respect of friend and foe. His opinion in the Great Erie Railway case was one of the first heavy blows administered to that powerful corporation. 44 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. COUNTY JUDGES. Baldwin, Seth C, — , 1832- 7. Ferriss, Orange, — , 1851-63. Barber, Hiram, — , 1837-45. Robards, William, — , 1813-20. Brown, Stephen, — , 1863-71. Rosekrans,EnochH., BuELL, Horatio, (a) — , 1829-32. — , 1847-51. Davis, Isaac J., — , 1871. Wing, Halsey R., — , 1845- 7. The present incombent. Baldwin, Seth C, Ferriss, Orange, Geay, Thomas S., SURROGATES.! — , 1835-40. Wilkinson, Robert,' — , 1840- 5. Wing, Abraham, — , 1845- 7. -, 1813-15. -, 1827-35. COUNTY TREASURERS. Farlin, Frederic A., — , 1845-52, Roberts, Charles, Hicks, Westel W., — , 1852- 8. Sheldon, N. Edson, Peck, Daniel, — , 1870- 3. (Resigned). 1832-45. 1873. COUNTY CLERKS. Baldwin, Seth C, — , 1820- 1. Ransom, Albert F. The present incumbent. Hicks, Westel W., — , 1861- 4. Wait, George P., — , 1874. 1864-73. (a) "Horatio Buell, (cliristened Horatio Gates, but the middle letter was TiBually dropped in his signatures), was second son and child of Gordon and Martha (Whittlesey) Buell of Newport, N. H. He was born 13th January, 1791." * (From Genealogy of Buell Family, by J. S. Buell, Esq., of Buffalo, N. Y.). He graduated with honors at Dartmouth College, in 1809, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and soon after removed to Glen's Falls, where his commanding talents, and rare acquirements, soon placed him in the front rank of his profession the bar of which was already graced by the names of such distinguished advocates as Roger Skinner, Abraham L. Vandenburgh, Henry C. Martiudale, Benjamin F. Butler, Robert Wilkinson, Lawrence I. Van Kleek, and Asahel Clark. He was married to Elizabeth daughter of the late James and Elizabeth (Cameron) McGregor, of Wilton, Saratoga Co., N. Y., on the 4th of July, 1819. Mr. Buell was a man of mark and influence in his day ; held in deservedly high considera- tion among those who knew him best ; an active politician, possessing the rare gift of moulding and moving men to his wishes, and having withal a high sense of honor and justice to guide and control his mental forces. He died at Ballston, Saratoga Co., N. Y., on the 27th of February, 1833. > Since the year 1847, the office of surrogate has been associated in this county with that of first judge. " A brief biographical notice of Horatio Bttbll in Ckapmari's Sketches of the Alumni of Dart- mouth College^ states that he was the son of Gordon and Hannah (Whittlesey) Buell, and that he was bom at Newport, January 13th, 1787. The statement above is believed to be correct. CIVIL LIST. 45 SHERIFFS. Allen, King, — , 1852- 5. BROWN,DAj^iELV.,(a)— , 1861- 4. Ferguson, Daniel, — , 1855- 8. Hicks, Westel W., — , 1867-70. Person, Lewis, — , 1855. To fill vacancy. — 1864- 7. — , 1834- 7. — , 1813-15. — , 1825- 8. Starbuck, Stephen, — , 1858-61. Tearse, Peter B., — , 1789-93. Person, Lewis, Russell, Joseph, Spencer, Henry, Baldwin, Levi H., Baldwin, Seth C, DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. — , 1850- 3. Farlin, Alfred C, — , 1845- 7. — , 1823- 5. Hat,WilliamJr.,(6)— , 1825- 7. — , 1827-35. Mott, Isaac, — , 1856-65. Brown, Stephen, — , 1853- 6. Buell, Horatio, — , 1821- 3. Cheritree, Andrew J., (Resigned). —,1871- 2. Clark, Asahel, — , 1818-21. — , 1872- 3. RosEKRANs, Enoch H., — , 1835-45 Sheldon, Melville A., — , 1874. Present incnmbent. (a) Son of Kichard, and Sally (Vaughn) Brown, was born 29th of May, 1821, in this town, and was a direct descendant in the fourth generation, from Benedick, the original settler, who immigrated to this town as early as the year 1772, his name appearing on the town records for 1773 as overseer of the poor. The following is a fac-simile of his signature. Daniel V. Brown was, for a number of years, a prominent business man, and active politician of the democratic party at Glen's Falls. He was elected to the position of supervisor against overwhelming odds in 1859. He has also held, as will be seen by the record, various other positions of honor and trust. He was drowned on the ill fated steamer Melville, which was wrecked and sunk at sea, on the 8th of January, 1865. He was at that time on his way to South Carolina, to procure volunteers or substitutes, to supply the quota of Queensbury in the anticipated draft for levies in the war of the rebellion. He was accompanied on this mission by Edward Riggs, a lawyer of fine attainments, and brilliant pro- mise, who met with the same terrible fate. A large sum of money belonging to the town of Queensbury, taken out by these agents for the purpose of paying sol- diers' bounties, was lost in the same disaster. (6) William Hay was of Scotch extraction, his ancestors having been among the earliest of that hardy band of Scotch adventurers, who hewed them out a home in the wilderness, on the eastern confines of Charlotte county about a century ago. He was a blood relative of the late Henry Hay, Esq., of Ticon- deroga, and of Col. Udney Hay, who held important relations to the American army of the Revolution. He was born in the year 1790, in Cambridge, Wash- 46 HISTORY OP TBGE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF COMMON SCHOOLS. Baldwin, Seth C, Thompson, Lemon, — , 1844-5. vice Wing resigned. — , 1843-4. Wing, Halsey R., — , 1843. HoLDEN, Austin W., — , 1846-7. (Resigned). ington Co., N. T., and his early training was in the straight and narrow ways of Scotch Presbyterianisni. About the beginning of the present century, his father, William Hay, came to Glen's Falls, embarked in the lumber business, and erected a store, the first building put up on the site now occupied by Pearsall and Cool- edge as a clothing store. For a season he carried on an extensive business ; but was ultimately unsuc- cessful and the property passed into the hands of John A. Ferriss and others. Amid these reverses, the son struggled on unaided in the acquirement of his education, the advantages being of the scantiest as to quality and opportunity. In 1808, he was pursuing the study of law in the office of Henry C. Martindale near the site of Vermillia's block. In 1812-13, he opened an office for the practice of law at the head of Lake George. , In 1814, he (being lieutenant commanding) proceeded with a rifle company, raised in great measure through his endeavors, to Plattsburgh, but did not reach the place in time to participate in that celebrated action, which contributed as largely as any one event to the final success of the American arms, in the second great struggle with England. He was also one of the volunteers in that ill starred expedition to Carthagena, pending which, he spent a winter in Philadelphia, where he became practically familiar with, and an adept in the printers' art. Early in the winter of 1816-17, and while in practice at Caldwell, he was married to a daughter of Stephen Paine, Esq., of Northumberland, Saratoga county, N. Y., by whom he had eight children. In 1819, he became the proprietor and publisher of the Warren Patriot, the first and only newspaper ever published at Lake George. About the same time, he delivered a poem at a fourth of July celebration at Caldwell, which was pub- lished, and was remarkable for its enunciation of those broad principles of human rights and liberties, which forty years later became the corner stone of the repub- lican party. In 1822 he removed to Glen's Falls, and resumed the practice of law. In 1827, he was elected to the assembly from Warren county. A doggerel verse which commemorates the spirit of that campaign, runs as follows : "In Warren County lived a Fox,' The Quaker men were marshalled out, And he was wondrous wise, All headed by JohnA.,* He ran against a load of Hay, With long tailed coats and broad brimmed hats, And scratched out both his eyes. A fighting Billy Hay. Soon after his return from the legislature, he issued a thin duodecimo volume of poetry entitled Isabel Davalos, the Maid of SeviUe. In the spring of 1837, he removed to Ballston at the same time retaining a branch office in this village. In 1840 he transferred his residence to Saratoga Springs, where he remained up to the time of his decease. Of several published works of his, the one which has attained the widest circulation is " A History of Temperajice in Saratoga County." ' Norman Fox, his opponent, who was thrice elected to the Assembly, viz : 1819-20-30. " John A. Ferriss, fether of Hon. O. Ferriss, and then postmaster of the village. CIVIL LIST. 47 SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS. Armstrong, Adam, — , 1870-2. Cheritree, Andrew Arnold, Luther A., — , 1860-6. J., — , 1856-7. (Two terms). Ketchum, Daniel B., — , 1873-4. The present incumbent. Welch, Theodore, — , 1867-9. DELEGATES TO STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONAL. Cheritree, Andrew Hotchkiss, William, — , 1846. J., — , 1867-8. Vernor, John, (a) — , 1801. He died suddenly while attending service at the Baptist church in Saratoga Springs, on the evening of Sunday, the 12th of February, 1790. He was a man of extensive reading and vast erudition ; not a little tenacious of his opinions and views, some of which bordered upon eccentricity. But few of the sterner sex ever possessed more delicate sensibilities, keener perceptions, or more rapid intuitions. In the later decades of his life he became a bold and fearless advocate of tem- perance. His delight and recreation, however, were drawn through the flowery, though not thornless paths of poetry and romance. His memory was something extraordinary, his industry in research indefatigable, and his mind was stored with the choicest cullings from the wide fields of literature and bellfes-lettres. In American history he was standard authority, to whom it was safe to refer at a moments warning, and in the matter of local history his mind was an exhaustless treasury. (a) Born 18th August, 1746, died Ist December, 1825, at Albany, N. T. His re- mains repose in the old burial ground of the Protestant Episcopal church at Albany, where also may be found the following inscriptions to the memory of his wife and son. " Prudence, wife of John Vernor, died 20th June, 1846, in the 77th year of her age." " John Vernor, Jr., died 4th March, 1822, aet. 51." The name of the latter appears in the Wing manuscripts for the year 1795. By the roster it appears that he was commissioned cornet on the 23d March, 1797, in the regiment commanded by Thurman of this regimental District. From some slight memoranda received from his son I learn that he was a magistrate for several years, and that he served with credit in the war of 1812-15. Was a merchant and tavern keeper at the head of Lake George in those early days when the two pursuits were often combined. The town limits of Queens- bury, then extended half way to the county line. He was one of the earliest com- missioned magistrates in the county, having received his appointment 24th February, 1791. His name appears frequently in the town records from 1795 to 1802. He was chairman of a public meeting of the citizens from vari- ous towns of Washington county, held at the house of Col. Joseph Caldwell of Kingsbury, on the 25th of February, 1793, with Micajah Pettit as secretary, at 48 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. STATE SENATORS. Clark, OrvilIe,i — , 1844-5-6-7. Little, Russell M., — , 1862-3. HoTCHKiss, William, — , 1856-7. Peck, Bethuel, — , 1839-40-1-2. which Dr. Zina Hitchcock was nominated as the federal candidate for the Senate. In the Calendar of Neio York Historical Mamiseripts, Revolutionary Papers, his name appears as quartermaster in the 13th New York regiment from the Saratoga District, of which John McCrea was colonel, all of whose officers were commissioned on the 20th of October, 1775. In a conversation with the compiler held on the 13th Sep- tember, 1850, the late Peletiah Richards, Esq., in relating reminiscences of his first visit to Warrensburgh in May, 1800, stated that the first building north of Bloody pond at that time, was " the long-house," at the head of the lake, north-east of the ttfaVklEOf4JLBAfl'i, View of Lake George in 1791. This cut was copied from a manuscript map among the Wing papers entitled "A Map of Land adjoining tlie west side of Lulie George belonging to James Caldwell, containing 2,232 acres. And also another ailioining containing 110 acres. Protracted by a scale of 15 chains to an inch. May, 1791. Pr. Archibald Campbell.'" turn in the old road, near the barracks of old Fort George at the foot of the hill and near the shore of the lake. This was the old hospital of the Revolutionary war ; a framed building, and was kept as a hotel by John Vernor. From the scanty memorials remaining of him, he appears to have been a man of means, culture, and refinement, having considerable influence, and mingling largely in public affairs. The following, among " notes from newspapers," appears in the Vlllth Vol. of Munsell's Annals of Albany. 1825, Dec. 1. " John Vernor died aged 80. He was a zealous partizan in the war of the Revolution, and for a time was deputy commissary of military stores, in which station, as well as in all others that he occupied, he showed himself competent and faithful. He was buried with masonic honors from his residence in North » Gen. Orville Clark, was, at the time of his election to the Senate, a resident of Sandy Hill, and in the full meridian of his splendid powers. CIVIL LIST. 49 Sanpord, (a) George Sickles, Daniel E., — , 1856-7 H. — ,1870-1. From the 3d (New York city) District. From the xixth (Oneida) District. SERGEANT AT ARMS OF THE STATE SENATE. Clark, James C, — , 1860-1. Market street, opposite the arsenal." The drawing was a pen and ink sketch. The road, represented by dotted lines, winds down by old Fort George, passing the settlement represented by the engraving, and one solitary house on the beach to the west of the settlement, then following the margin of the lake around to the west side, strikes off from the lake in a northerly by west course just north of the big brook by Crandell's, and keeps on across the entire map. It is designated as John Thurman's road. Buildings are represented as standing as follows : A saw-mill on the brook just above the road crossing, just noted, a dwelling a little to the east of the mill between the brook and roads, and another dwelling near Mr. Hayden's residence. These are ail the buildings indicated, except those re- presented in the picture. The picture is lettered " Fort George." This occupies the centre of a circle which extends several rods down the lake and whose dia- meter represents about 120 chains, embracing the entire south end of the lake and its adjacent territory on both sides. This is marked " Lands reserved for the use of the garrison." For some of the information herein contained, I am indebted to the Hon. James Gibson of Salem, N. Y. (a) George H. Sanford, son of George and Louisa (Gibbs)Sanford, was born at Sanford's ridge, in the town of Queensbury, N. Y., in the year 1836. A year later, his parents removed to Glen's Falls, where he lived till 13 years of age, enjoying such educational advantages as the place then afforded. At the age of thirteen, when most boys are helpless dependants upon their parents, he resolved to earn his own means of support, and work out his own career. Accordingly, with his parents' consent, he repaired to Albany, where he found employment as receiving and shipping clerk with Mead, Burnham & Co., wholesale lumber dealers. With the exception of one year spent at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, he passed the active business portion of the next seven years in the employment of this firm. During three winters of this time, he was employed in lumbering on his own account in Greene Co., N. Y., and Potter Co., Pa. When but twenty years of age, he made Syracuse his residence, and there entered into the lumber and salt trade, combining with it the manufacture of lumber at Saginaw, Michigan, and locating pine lands, in the productive pineries of that state. He was one of the pioneer company organized in 1858, to bore for salt water in the Saginaw valley. In 1861, he was married to Helen B. Stevens, a grand-daughter of the late Hon S. Sidney Breese, of Oneida county. In 1862, having acquired something of a competence, he removed to Oneida, N. Y., where he continued to reside until the time of his death. Here he was appointed president of the Oneida Savings Bank, a director in the Oneida Valley National Bank and in the Rome and Clinton Rail Road. He also, about this time, re-embarked with his younger brother, David, in the lumber business at Rome, N. Y. In 1864, and again in 1868 he was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention. In 1865 and '66, he was ele'cted supervisor of his town by flattering majorities. In 1867 was nominated for senator and ran largely ahead of his ticket. Was elected to the assembly in 1866, and to the senate of '70-'71, in both of which positions he very ably represented his constituents, and was always found high minded, courteous, industrious and true to the best interests of the 7 50 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY.i Alden, Seth, (a) — , 1800- 1. Cheney, Albert BuRNHAM, Cyrus, — , 1850. N., (6) — 1848. Butler,BenjaminC.,— , 1860. Clark, Billy J., — , 1820. Elected from Saratoga connty. people. While liis honors were clustering thickly around him, he was stricken down suddenly with an insidious disease, and died at his residence, on the 29th of November, 1871, being the third member of the senate of 1870-1, smitten down by the hand of death during their term of service. (a) " Dr. Seth Alden, son of Seth, was born probably at Shaftsbury, Vt., in 1749, died at Caldwell (head of Lake George) 30th July, 1809. We have no account of his early life, but that he was a man of some note in his profession, is evident from the fact, that in 1783 he was requested by Col. Ethan Allen to visit his daughter in consultation with Dr. Hutton, his family physician, at the distance of some forty miles. From Shaftsbury he removed to Caldwell, N. Y., where he continued to reside until the time of his death." In a letter from Judge Hay, I find the follow- ing : " I have heard old James Caldwell speak of clearing and laying out the site for Lake House Caldwell ; the first occupant I knew was Dr. Alden. Before the Lake House was erected, the old hospital, or long house, had been used for a tavern." See Sketch of John Vernor. He married Ist, Priscilla Cole, who died 20th November, 1798, and 2d, Keziah Beach on the 1st March, 1800, who died 10th October, 1810, set 51. His two eldest daughters were married successively to John A. Ferriss, a prominent merchant and business man of this place. Dr. Alden was of the fifth generation in direct descent from John Alden of May Flower memory, and was the grandfather of Hon. O. Ferriss, our late representative in congress, a sketch of whom appears in this work. The late Mr. Ralph Stebbins, of Caldwell, informed me that Dr. Alden removed from Lake George to Fort Edward in 1809, and died the same year or the year following. Caldwell was not erected as a township until 1810. In the old parchment bound Records of Queeiisbiiry will be found the following entry : At a town meeting held in Queensbury, 26th day of January, 1784, it was " voted that the inhabitants of Fort George be annexed to the district of Queensbury." Also in 1806, — " By order of Henry Spencer and Moses Harris jr., commissioners, etc., District No. 4 is to extend as far north as the south line of Bolton." — Vide Alden Memorial, p. 144. (6) Albert Nelson Cheney, son of Hiram and Joanna (Hawkins) Cheney, was born at Rutland, Vt., on the 17th of November, 1813. In the early records, the name is found variously recorded, Cheeney, Cheny, and Cheiney. The family were of English origin, and among the earliest immigrants to this country. The ancestor of the family is understood to have settled in the town of Concord, Mass., from whence the descendants migrated westwardly, with the drift of colonization. The name occurs in the history of Watertown, Mass., as early as 1650. The grand-father of Albert N. Cheney was one of the earliest pioneers to the town of Rutland, which, according to Tliompson's Oazetteer of Vermont, 1 Prior to the erection of Wan-en county in 1813, and indeed, as lato as 1822, the assembly district which embraced Warren and Wasliingltjn counties, was represented by lro;n three to six mum- bnrs, according to the ratio of roprcsc'utation. " * It will be seen by the list that this portion of the district always had its full proportion of members. 50 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY.i .M.ijt > orali, ((() — , 1800- 1. ChKNBY, ALBERT Bdunram, Cyrus, — , 1850. N. Ih\ — , 1848. Butler.BenjaminC. ,— , 1860. Cla: v J., —,1820. Saratviga county. pw>j»1p W)nl« liiB honors were clustering thjckJy ^lu, he was stricken ■. an insidious disease, and di» (i '^e, on the 29th , , being the third member of i: ~n-1, smitten luu of death duriiig their term of servicw. ' ! Alden, son of Seth, was born prolmbly at Shaii^tn! . ~49, i! (head of Lake George) 30th July, 1809. We have uc> accouu; ms, a sketch of whom appears in tliis Caldwell, informed me that Dr. Alden l'\in Edward in ISOU, ami 'Jie( PTeoted as a townshij" until 1810. In the old lowing entry: At a '♦ H.TH •• VDtH tluit lh< in i Dj»^; : .'/.« Alden Men,.., (6) ALBiiK; wkuiH) Cheney, was V.orn ftt Rutlii! carlv rccMi-fls, the found variously rec' uily i iiirl l"1i (iri •'{■<: ;i ml ' ( (lucord, .i.,« drift of HB., as early as ■'■ . ■■ tliest pioneers ' ' r of Vermont, ■t%, the assembly district lro;n three to six mcm- .a For very cBsicntial parts of the Information herein contained I am indebted to Newell Hoxie of Sandwich, Mass. ^Joseph Merritt, son of Ichabod, was the flri Previous to the year 1827, justices were appointed. Owing to the mutilated and imperfect couditiou of the town records, it has been very difficult to compile a Civil List, even approximat- ing to accuracy anterior to that date. On the 7ih of April, 1827, a new enactment was passed by the state legislature by which the officers of juptice became elective, provisions being made lor the election of four at the outset, tht:ir respective terms of office to bo deteiniiucd l)y lot. Pursuant to this act, the newly elected board met on the 24th of November, 1827, and drew lots with the following results : Bartholomew Griffin, First Class, Ira A. Paddock, Second Class, Hiram Barber, Third Class, Samuel S. Tallmadge, Fourth Class. '- ^Uh \ ^ANK NOTE t ENC CO- CMiCftCO '^n^vn^Jh^JU. CIVIL LIST. 65 Mallort, John, 1817, 18. Paddock, Ira A., 1825, 6, 7, 8, Morgan, Carlos, 1861, 2, 3, 4, 5, 48, 9, 50, 1. 6, 7, 8. Parsons, Elnathan, 1815, 16. sliortly afterward returned to New Milford, where he received what was con- sidered for those days a good education. In 1799, having become an accomplished penman and accountant, he returned to Queensbury, and immediately received employment by his Uncle Sanford, as a clerk in the management of his extended business. By his assiduity and devotion to his employer's interest he very shortly became the trusted manager of the store, Mr. Sanford's time being engrossed by outside pursuits. His fair, even and bold chirography appears on the town re- cords for the years 1802, and 3, when Mr. Sanford held the office of town clerk. At the time of the institution of old Hamilton Lodge, F. and A. M., in 1805, he was made a mason, a large delegation of high officials in that organization from Albany and vicinity, visiting for the purpose, and conferring the degrees. About the same time he bought his uncle's interest in the store, and continued the busi- ness until 1808, when he removed to the thriving village of Waterford. Here he embarked in a large and successful trade, in which he continued until the year 1820 when he returned to the Ridge and resumed the mercantile business in the old place. Three years later he disposed of his stock and removed to Glen's Falls, where he soon afterward bought the old Wing farm, and enlarged, rebuilt and com- pleted the half finished dwelling to a spacious and elegant mansion, the home he continued to occupy up to the time of his death. Prior to the erection of Warren county, and until after the year 1822, the dis- trict embraced by Warren and Washington counties sent from three to six mem- bers to the legislature, according to the ratio of representation. In 1821, Mr. McDonald was placed in nomination for the assembly, in opposition to Asahel Clark, a Clintonian of distinguished abilities and extended influence. Notwith- standing the nmnerical ascendancy of the Clintonian party, the bucktail ticket was successful in this district, chiefly through Mr. McDonald's great popularity, and instrumentality in bringing about one of those political revulsions, which, like a whirlwind, triumphantly sweeps a^'ay all opposition. It was during this session of the legislature, that a survey and appropriation was obtained through Mr. Mc- Donald's personal efforts, for the construction of the Glen's Falls' Feeder. He was reelected to the assembly the following year, and such was his popularity that there were only seventeen votes cast against him in town. He was again elected to the assembly in 1828. To him, more than any other one man, is the credit due of opening up the re- sources of the place and preparing the way for that healthy development, and growth which makes it to day one of the great business centres of northern New York. As is shown by the record, Mr. McDonald was chosen one of the vestrymen of the Episcopal church at its first organization. At the formation of the old Commercial Bank he was elected its president, which position he held with great acceptance for a term of years. From that time forth he kept retired from the cares and toils of public life, de- voting his leisure to the management of his estate and the remainder of his days were passed in serene tranquility. He died on Sunday, the eleventh of September, 1870, and his remains were de- posited in the new cemetery, where a large and costly monument marks the place of his earthly rest. 9 66 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. Peck Daniel, 1807, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Peirsons, Eli C, 1835, 6. Perine, Joseph S., 1848, 9, 50, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Pettit, Micajah, 1802, 3, 4, 5. Philo, Nathan A., 1829, 30, 1, 2. Pitcher, Alfred, 1823, 4, 5. Ripley, Asa, 1820. Ripley, James, 1817, 18, 19, 20. Roberts, William, 1795, 6, 7, 8, 9, 1800, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Robinson, William, 1851, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9. Scott, Daniel D., 1812, 13, 14, 15. SissoN, James, 1848. Skinner, Samuel G-., 1823, 4. Spencer, Henry, 1807, 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 1, 32, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9. Stewart, Robert, 1860, 1, 2, 3, 4,5,6, 7,8,9,70, 1,2,3. Stower, Asa, 1817, 18. Tallmadge, Samuel S., 1827, 8, 9, 30, 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 40, 1, 2, 3. Vantassel, Hermon, 1839, 40, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 50. Vaughn, James, 1811, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Vernor, John, 1796, 7, 8, 9, 1800, 12 3 J., .J, u. Wing, Halsey R., (a) 1844, 5, 6, 7. Wing, Nehemiah, 1863. (a) Halsey Rogers Wing, eldest son of Daniel W., and Rhoda A. (Stewart) Wing, was born in a building occupying part of the site of tbe Middlewortb. House, at Sandy Hill, N. Y., wbicb, at that time was one of tlie most active and flourisliing villages between Albany and Montreal. His father was at the time named, and for some years subsequently, an innkeeper, in a building (since burned) known as the Eagle hotel. In 1814 he removed to the lower part of the village of Fort Edward, where he resided for a number of years near the place l^/^^ now occupied by S. R. Durkee. Here Halsey had the benefit of the local schools, and the experience acquired by rendering such assistance as he was able in the management of his father's business. His aptitude for study, and persevering application to his books, undoubtedly determined the direction of his career and the choice of a profession. At the age of sixteen he was sent to the celebrated academy at Lenox, Mass. After three years of a thorough academic course under the supervision of Prof. Hotchkiss, its very able principal, he went first to Yale, and subsequently to Middlebury College, Vt., where he entered the Sophomore class, graduated in course and took his baccalaureate degree, on the 15th of August, 1832. He had probably already commenced the study of law, for his license shows that he was admitted to the bar as an attorney, in October, 1834. His legal studies were pursued in the office of the eminent jurisconsult, the Hon. Samuel Cheever. In the interim of student life he served for a brief period, as assistant district attorney of Albany county. Soon after his admission to the bar, he was awarded a gold medal by the Young Mens' Association of Albany, for an essay of distinguished merit (afterwards CIVIL LIST. 67 COMMISSIONERS OF COMMON SCHOOLS. i Ames, Moody, 1828, 9, 30, 1, 3. Eastwood, Martin, 1830. Barber, Hiram, 1835, 6, 7, 8. Ferriss, John A., 1818, 19, 20, 1, Bartow, Elijah, 1796, 7, 8, 9, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 1800. Ferriss, Warren, 1796, 7, 8, 9, Beadlestone, Stephen, 1810, 11, 1800. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. FoLGER, Elisha, 1821. CowLES, Daniel H., 1837. Freeman, Jonathan W., 1834. printed) wMcli was read before that body. The following are the inscriptions copied from the medal, now in the possession of the family. Obverse. . Reverse. The Huygen's Premium, For the Awarded, ^ Best Essay on Nov. 1st, 1834, ' the influence of the by Study of the Physical and The Young Mens' Mathematical Sciences Association for Mutual Improvement, On the Character of Man In the City of Albany, and the usefulness and application To Halsey R. Wing. of these sciences to the Common purposes of life. In December following, his name was inscribed upon the rolls, as solicitor in chancery, and about the same time he removed to Brockport, Monroe county, where he opened a law office, with E. B. Holmes as partner. He remained but a short time at this place, but removing to the larger and more promising village of Buffalo, whose coming greatness and importance were already casting shadows before, he formed a new partnership with Judge Frederick P. Stevens. Here, with the dawn before him of a lucrative practice, and a wide spread popularity among the laboring classes, we find him fairly launched upon the swift current of life. On the 31st of August, 1835, he was married with Harriet N., sister of the Hon. E. P. Walton, of Montpelier, Vt., who has lately represented that district for two consecutive terms in Congress. Of this vmion, it is not improper to say that it has been one of the most perfect accord and harmony. The chivalric and devoted respect with which he always regarded the gentler sex, found an apotheosis in his wife, whom he reverenced and loved with a devotion which few have equalled, and none excelled. Through all his life, he seems to have made it a special study to spare those he loved from all care, trouble, anxiety or apprehension. He came to Glen's Falls in 1841 , in which year he was admitted as counselor at law, and the following year, as solicitor in the United States Courts, and coun- selor in chancery. He became, from the first, prominently identified with the ' The office of school commissioner was created by the act of 1795, relating to common schools. According to the provisions of the law, not less than three, nor more than seven commissioners were annually to he chosen by the electors of their respective towns. To them was committed the supervision and direction of the schools, and the apportionment of the public moneys among the several school districts.— Vide Eandall's Digest, p. 6. From 1800 to 1812 it does not appear that any commissioners of schools were elected in Queensbury. The office was abolished at th» time the office of town superintendent was created. 68 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Green, Amos, 1824, 5, 8, 9. Miner, John, 1798. Griffin, Bartholomew, 1826. Mosher, Isaac, 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Jenkins, Palmer B., 1831, 2. 40, 1, 2, 3. KiMBERLY, Israel, 1822, 3. Nelson, Asaph, 1830, 1, 2. McDonald, William, 1820. Numan, Lewis, 1835, 6. Mallory, John, 1818. Philo, Henry, 1839. interests of the democratic party, of wliich lie lias been a life long, and unvarying supporter. In the fall of 1843, he was appointed, by the board of supervisors, to the position of county superintendent of common schools. In 1845 he became the first judge of the county, having previously been elected to the office of justice of the peace and inspector of common schools. In all these multiplied relations he invariably fulfilled the trusts, and discharged the duties belonging to them with fidelity and conscientious thoroughness. His legal practice, built up in the face of a sharp and eager competition, was always respectable and renumerative, and that he did not descend to do the dirty work of a venal bar, will be no reproach to his memory in the estimation of those whose opinions are worth the having. In 1851 one of those rare opportunities presented, which now and then prove the turning point in a man's fortunes. He was offered a partnership in an already established business, and the celebrated Jointa Lime Company, was formed, consisting of himself and Mr. John Keenan, to whose indefatigable industry and shrewd management, this company is largely indebted for its success. In 1853 Mr. Abraham Wing sold out his large lumbering interest, together with the sawmill near the dam on this side of the river to Halsey R. Wing, and his brother-in-law, Lansing G. Taylor. After Mr. Taylor's death (which occurred in 1856), and the settlement of the estate, Mr. Wing became sole proprietor of the lumbering business aud the mills connected with it. After assuming these varied business cares and responsibilities, Mr. Wing gra- dually withdrew from the practice of law, throwing Tiis legal business into the hands of Isaac J. Davis, Esq., with whom he formed a law partnership in 1854 ; and who has since made his mark in the legal world as a sharp, astute counselor, and a brilliant and successful advocate. Later oh, Mr. Wing became one of the firm known as The Glen's Falls Com- pany, and of another, called The Glen's Falls Transportation Company, in both of which large financial and industrial interests were represented, and whose ex- tended operations have proved eminently successful and remunerative. He was also a stockholder and director in the Glen's Falls National Bank, and the Glen's Falls Insurance Company. In all public matters, connected with education or morality, Mr. Wing was an earnest and zealous worker. He was a regular at- tendant upon the ministrations of the Presbyterian church, and acted as one of its trustees at a moment of peculiar embarrassment and difficulty. He was an ardent and faithful laborer in the field of temperance, formerly a worthy patriarch of the old Glen Division, one of the charter members of Billy J. Clark Division, and a con- tributor to its exchequer. Mr. Wing was a ready promoter and advocate of the interests of education, con- tributing to its maintenance, and encouraging its elevation and advancement. At the time of his decease, he was one of the trustees of the Glen's Falls Academy. He was also elected president of the Young Mens' Association at its organization and served it faithfully in that capacity, until his term of office expired, giving yfi-^Ve.. CIVIL LIST. 69 PiXLEY, Lewis L., 1832. Stower, Asa, 1812, 13, 14, 15, 16, Kansom, Fletcher, 1827, 8, 9. 17, 18, 19, 20, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Roberts, William, 1796, 7. 8, 9, 1839, 40, 1, 2. Robinson, William, 1833. Sweet, Daniel, 1833, 4. Scott, Daniel D., 1817. Tibbitts, Benjamin, 1799, 1800. Sheldon, N. Edson, 1838, 40, 1, Wilkinson, Robert, 1817. 2, 3. Wing, Benjamin, 1796, 7, 8, 9, Spencer, Henry, 1812, 13^ 14, 15, 1800. 16, 19. Wing, Richard, 1843. the embryo organization much of his valuable time, with the hope and aim of giving it permanence and stability. He always manifested the greatest respect for the observance and ceremonials of religion, tenderly regardful of the feelings of others, and, although he made no verbal professions of piety, his was that broader catholicity of doctrine and example, which holds to the belief in " The Gospel of the Golden Rule, The New Commandment given to men, Thinking the deed, and not the creed, Would help us in our utmost need." With the outbreak of the rebellion, Mr. Wing immediately became identified with the war movement, earnestly and faithfully laboring to further the interests of the Union. This is not the place, nor the occasion to animadvert upon the bitter partisanship which was resolute to declare that democrats were all " traitors," " copperheads," " disloyal," " in sympathy with the rebellion," etc., which trailed the venom and slime of foul slander upon the fairest reputations, and which assailed the purest patriots with the garbage of vituperation. Mr. Wing, as an active and prominent democrat, still clinging to that corner stone and palladium of our liberties, the constitution, as something to be revered, was, from this very prominence, a target for their assaults, and although never com- plaining, there is reason to believe that this state of things did much to embitter his existence, and to grieve unnecessarily and wantonly a sensitive spirit, always struggling conscientiously for the right ; and which, for mean and selfish ends, was persistently misrepresented and resolutely misunderstood. Mr. Wing was a public spirited man and a hard, efficient worker. To his ener- getic labors we owe many of our public improvements, and the development of our industrial resources, of which we have no further space to speak. His last appearance in public, was on the occasion of a great public festival given at the Cosgrove Opera House, for the benefit of the poor. He was em- phatically a friend to the friendless, and few appeals for help were ever turned unanswered away. His professions were sincere, his friendships enduring, and beneath a bluff carriage and reserved manner, he carried as kind a heart and a soul full of tender emotion, as ever animated a human being. Were all like him as honest and honorable, as pure minded and trustworthy, as unsuspicious of evil and em- bodying the apostolical description of charity, this world would indeed be a para- dise such as Eden might have been before the fall. Surrounded abundantly by the comforts and luxuries of life, and the tender, assiduous care of kind and affectionate friends, he passed peacefully to his final rest on the morning of Wednesday, the 26th of January, 1870. 70 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. INSPECTORS OF COMMON SCHOOLS.i Almy, Obadiah, 1839. Ames, Moody, 1826. Arms, Josiah L., 1820. Baldwin, Israel P., 1812, 13. Barber, Hiram, 1826, 7, 8, 9, 32, 8, 4, 7. Brayton, William, 1834, 41. Buell, Horatio, 1814, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,20, 1,2,3. Clark, Asahel, 1814, 15, 16, Curtenias, John L., 1834. Dean, Caleb P., 1840. Dickinson, David F., 1817, 18, 19. Emmons, Adonijah, 1815, 16. Ferriss, Orange, 1839, 40. Forbes, Horace, 1816, 17. Fox, Warren S., 1838. Gardner, Dilwin, 1817, 19. Gtrifpin Bartholomew, 1842, 3. Harris, Henry Jr., 1839. Hay, William, 1823, 4, 5. Henderson, James, 1814, 16, 17, 18,19. Hitchcock, John H., 1816. Kimberly, Israel, 1821. Leavins, Royal, 1817, 18, 19, 20, 7, 8, 30, 1, 5. Little, Russell M., 1841. Low, Harvey C, 1835, 6. Mallory, John, 1812, 13, 14, 15, 20. Manchester, G-eorge, 1832, 7. Mead, Orlin, 1838. Packard, Gridley H., 1829. Paddock, Ira A., 1824, 5, 8, 36, 7. Perrin, Ira A., 1840, 1, 2, 3. Pettit, Micajah, 1813, 14. Pitcher, Alfred, 1818, 19. Ranger, Ezra, 1833. Ranger, Samuel, 1830. Ransom, Fletcher, 1823, 5, 9, 33. Rosekrans, Enoch H., 1835, 6,7. RuGG, George, 1842. RuGG, Levi, 1812, 13. Scott, Daniel D., 1816, 1843. Seaman, Allen T., 1830, 1, 2. Sheldon, N. Edson, 1839. Skinner, Samuel G., 1812, 13. Stower, Asa, 1817, 20, 2, 6, 7. Vaughn, James, 1815. White, James, 1820, 1, 2, 4. Wilkinson, Robert, 1813, 14, 15, 16. TOWN SUPERINTENDENTS OF COMMON SCHOOLS. Holden, Austin W., 1856. MoTT, Isaac, 1850, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Paddock, Franklin A., 1849. Paddock, Ira A., 1843. (Ap- pointed) 1844. Ferine, Joseph S., 1848. (Ap- pointed). Satterlee, Leroy R., 1848. Tallmadge, Samuel S., 1845, 6, 7. 1 The office of inspector of common schools was created In 1812, and from three to six in- spectors were annually thereafter elected until 184'1. They were invested with powers similar to those of commissioners, the duties of examining teacliers and visiting schools, devolving espe- cially upon them. In 1828, the number of inspectors was reduced to three by act of legislature. CIVIL LIST. 71 ASSESSORS. Babcock, Phineas, 1778, 85. Barber, Hiram, 1826, 8. Bartow, Elijah, 1795, 6, 7. Beadlestone, Charles, 1833,40. Beadlestone, Job, 1822, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 30, 1, 2, 8. Beadlestone, Stephen, 1805, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Benedict, Ezra, 1859. Bennett, David, 1783. Briggs, Walter, 1798, 9, 1800, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Briggs, William, 1862. Brown, Asa, 1794, 5. Brown, Benedick, 1775. Brown, Daniel, 1«41, 2, 3. Brown, George, 1851. Bush, Henry, 1873. Carpenter, Stevens, 1872. Codner, Henry, 1841, 2, 3, 6. Cornell, Benjamin, 1796, 7, 1800, 1,3. Cornwell, Edward, 1815, 19. Cowper, Jeffrey, (a) 1766. Dean, David M., 1830, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7,43. Dickinson, Thomas, 1799. Dixon, Alanson, 1848, 54, 7, 60. Eddy, John, 1790, 2, 4. Ellis, Enoch, 1856. Fairchild, Samuel, 1787. Faxon, Walter A., 1869. Ferguson. Henry, 1834, 40, 1, 2, 50, 65. Ferriss, James, 1795, 6. Ferriss, Warren, 1790, 1, 3. Folger, Elisha, 1788, 91. Fonda, William A., 1864. Fuller, Ebenezer, 1778, 9, 80. Gardner, Dilwin,1813, 16, 20,1, 2. Graves, John, 1779. Green, Amos, 1820, 1. Griffin, Bartholomew, 1838. Griffin, Jonathan, 1814. Gurnet, Joseph H., 1835, 6, 7, 9, 44. Hapburn, Joseph, 1789. (a) Previous to the issue of the Queensbury patent, this person had occupied temporarily the Block House at the Half-way brook. In regard to him Sir Jeffrey Amherst, in a letter to a Mr. Sharpe, dated New York, 20th October, 1762, writes as follows : " The permit to Jeffrey Cooper to occupy the small Post at Half-way brook between Fort Edward and Lake George, was only intended for the preservation of the barricks, etc., that had been erected there, and for the conveniency of Pas- sengers, as I judged it unnecessary after the reduction of Canada, to leave a Gar- rison at that Post." It would seem that Cowper was a seafaring man, for in the Calendar of English Manuscripts, in the Secretary of States' olEce, p. 657, is filed a petition by " Ephraim Cook, owner of the Snow Cicero, 34 guns," in which he applies " for a commission, and in case of his death, to his first lieutenant, Richard Harris, and Jeffrey Cowper, his second lieutenant to command said Snow Cicero." This Cowper (as the name is also spelled in the town records), was, probably, a dependent of Lord Amherst, and without doubt the first bond fide white inhabitant of the town. His name only appears iu the town recoi-ds for the year 1766. In Abraham's Wing's account book he stands charged with S 140 lbs. of pork. ( 7 " " nails. April, 1765. 72 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Harris, Asa, 1794. Hitchcock, John, 1812. Harris, Morris, 1844, 5. Jenkins, Palmer B., 1834. Haviland, John G., 1845, 6. Jones, Daniel, (b) 1772, 4. Hicks, Jacob, 1771. Kenyon, John, 1804. HiQsoN, James, (a) 1777, 80, 3, 4, Kimberley, Israel, 1813, 16, 17, 9, 2, 3, 7, 1800. 18. (a) On the 18tli of January, 1777, James Higson at Queensbury advertises that he has taken it on himself to act as the " executor to the estate of Jacob Hix, de- ^>U^»-^^(/ {7-^^^, ceased, in place of Ichabod Merritt." It is presumed from this, and other circum- stances that he had married a year or two previously, and perhaps longer, Content, the daughter of Abraham Wing, and the widow of said Hicks, who had died about the year 1774. Higson was taken prisoner together with Andrew Lewis, his brother-in-law, and William Robards, while hunting strayed cattle or horses near the Blind rock at the time of Carleton's raid, in 1780. Another version of the afiair states that they were preparing to go a fishing near East creek, on Lake George, one of the number being engaged in chopping ; the noise of which attracted the enemy, and they were surprised and captured. They were all taken to X^anada, and after running the gauntlet, were rescued from the savages, and confined in prison, Robards afterward escaped. The other two remained until the close of the war, being provided for to some extent, and probably kindly treated through the influence of some of their kinsmen who were refugees in Canada at that time. After his return Higson built upon and occupied the land known as the Rosa farm now owned by Mr. Bentley, about one mile north of the village on the Ridge road. On the authority of the late Mr. McDonald, Higson's wife was an intimate friend and confidant of Jane McCrea, they often exchanged visits, and after the atrocious massacre, the Indians exhibited Jenny's scalp, with its long tresses of golden hair, at her father's house near the lower freight house, back of the McDonald mansion. Higson had three children, two daughters and a son John. The latter removed west. From Betsey, the second child, are descended the Burnhams of this village. Judge Hay informed me that he remembered the Hiosons well. They both used the Quaker dialect, and " aunt Tenty," as he called her, was a very chatty, agreea- ble person. Higson I think was of Scotch extraction. ^^m£^- (J) Was a brother of the David Jones, so famous in American history as the be- trothed lover of the hapless Jane McCrea. The Jones family ' consisted of a ' Tide Wilson's Life of Jane MeOrea, pp. 16, 17. CIVIL LIST. 73 Lapham, Stephen, 1787, 8, 9. Newman, Orange, 1852. Leavins, Hezekiah, 1817. Palmeter, James, 1823, 4, 5. Lewis, Andrew, 1780. Peck, Bethuel, 1829. Mallory, John, 1814. Peck, Reuben, 1808. Martin, Henry, 1785, 6, 7. Philo, Nathaniel, 1829. McGrEE, David, 1814, 15. Pitcher, Alfred, 1822, 3, 4, 5, 7^ Merritt, Ichabod, (a) 1766, 8, 9, 31. 70. Pitcher, Jonathan, 1786. Mills, Daniel Jr., 1786. Platt, Elmore, 1838, 9, 46. Morgan, Alonzo W., 1827, 8, 30, Putnam, Asaph, 1767. 2, 3, 44, 5, 53. Ripley, James, 1835, 6, 7. Morgan, Reuben, 1810, 11. Robards, William, 1783, 4, 5. widow and six sons, viz. : Jonathan, John, Dunham, Daniel, David and Solomon. They removed from Leamington, New Jersey, where they had been neighbors and friends of the McCreas, and settled in Kingsbury, where, in the vicinity of Moss street, Daniel shortly obtained, by purchase of the patentees, a large tract of land. The family homestead was near the north-west corner of the Kingsbury patent. Daniel was one of the earliest settlers in Queensbury, and to his enterprise and energy in great degree are attributable the early development of its water power and resources. Records and conveyances still exist to show that he was interested in the first saw mill and grist mill ever built at Glen's Falls. They stood on the site of the race way and marble mill just above the bridge. He married Deborah, sixth child of Abraham and Anstis (Wood) Wing. She was born the 6th of 7th month, 1750. Among other property that he owned here was the islands in the river, which he bought of the Jessups of Luzerne, and which were afterwards conveyed to Abraham Wing. One of these bears to this day the name of Wing's island. At the outbreak of the Revolution he adhered to the royal cause, and with other loyalists fled to Canada. One of his brothers, besides David, held a commission in Jessup's loyalist's battalion in Burgoyne's army. His lands here, which were not previously disposed of, were condemned by the commission of for- feiture, confiscated and sold after the war. At the time of Carleton's invasion in 1780 his house was burned by the invaders. In a letter contained among the manu- scripts so often referred to, he feelingly communicates to his father-in-law, the tidings of his wife's death, in childbed, in Montreal 28th March, 1782, the infant dying about four months after. Subsequent to the war he settled at Brockville, Upper Canada, where he received from the Crown, a large grant of land in com- pensation for his losses here, and where his descendants still reside, being people of consideration and influence. During the war, about the year 1781, his son Richard was arrested and imprisoned at Albany as a loyalist and tory. Through Abraham Wing's intercession and influence he was liberated. Within the memory of many living, the heirs at law made an effort to recover from the state, the value of the confiscated lands, but were not successful. (a) The three eldest daughters of Abraham Wing married three brothers, sons of Nehemiah Merritt of the Oblong, Dutchess county, N. T., namely, Nehemiah, Daniel and Ichabod. The first two of these never removed to Queensbury. Icha- bod, with his wife Sarah, did, and we find his name among the list of town oflacers for the year 1766. Their oldest child, Joseph, was the first child of white parents born in this town. The family record places the date of his birth 17th of 12th month, 1766. From 10 74 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Egberts, William Jr., 1802, 3, 12. Sanpord, David, 1805, 6, 7, 10, 11. Sanford, Elnathan, 1808, 9. Scott, DanielD., 1816, 17, 19, 20. Seelte, Nehemiah, 1772, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Seelye, Keuben, 1813, 14, 18, 21. Seelye, Keuben, 1861, 4, 7, 70. SissoN, James, 1847. Spencer, Henry, 1809. Sprague Ebenezer, 1790. Tearse, Peter B., 1798. Thomas, Israel, 1792, 3. Van Deuzen, Abraham, 1840. Van Heusen, Jacob P., 1871. Van Heusen, Volkert P., 1868. Vaughn, Stephen, 1855, 8. Vernor, John, 1798, 9, 1800, 1, 2. WnfppLE, Archibald P., 1863, 6. Williams, David, 1833, 4. Winchip, Ansel, 1826, 39, 49. Winchip, Joel, 1798, 9, 1804. Wing, Abraham, 1767, 8. Wing, Benjamin, 1769, 70, 1, 8, 4, 6, 84, 8, 9, 91. Wing, Nehemiah, 1815. Wing, William, 1818, 19. OVERSEERS OF THE POOR. Beadlestone, Job, 1814, 15. Benedict, Ezra, 1851, 2. Bentley, Stephen, 1871, 2. Blood, Sewell, 1839. Boyd, Rufus, 1864. Cronkhite, George, 1854, 5, 8, 9, 60. Curtis, Enos, 1805, Dean, David M,, 1844, 5, 6, 7. Eddy, John, 1793. Brown, Benedict, 1773, 4, 9, 83, Folger, Elisha, 1788, 9, 90, 1, 2. 4, 5. Green, Amos, 1829. Brown, Daniel, 1830, 1, 2, 50, 1, Griffin. Seneca, 1884. 2, 3 4, 62. Harris, Moses Jr., 1808. Brown, Silas, 1802, 3, 4. Haviland, Daniel S., 1848, 9. Coffin, Elisha, 1863, 4, 5. Haviland, Roger, 1813, 15, 17, Cornell, Benjamin, 1801, 2, 3, 18. 4, 5. Herald, John, 1868, 9. him are descended the numerous families of Motts and Carys in thi% and the adjoining town of Moreau. From time to time he was chosen to fill various other offices in the town. He is said to have erected the first framed house in Queens- bury. It was situated on one of the sections in the town plot, near the Halfway brook, and it was burned during Burgoyne's advance together with the mills at the falls and several of the dwellings. They subsequently, and probably about the time of Burgoyne's advance, in the early part of the Revolutionary war, re- turned to Dutchess county. Joseph, who afterwards removed to Moreau, where he died 15th of 11th month, 1826, left the following provision in his will : " And I do will and order that my father, Ichabod Merritt, be 8U])ported by my executors out of my own estate ;" showing that his father then still survived. It is believed that he died in Dutchess county, although the author has no certain record of that event. CIVIL LIST. 75 Hitchcock, Alfred F., 1856. Pixley, Lewis L., 1853. HuBBELL, Shadrach, 1794. Powell, Caleb, 1766. Jenkins, Palmer B., 1824, 5, 6, Richards, Edmund B., 1853. 35, 6, 7, 8, 55. Robards, William, 1795, 6, 7. Jenkins, Simeon, 1809. Robinson, William, 1848, 9, 50. Jones, Daniel, 1771, 2. Sanford, David, 1806. Lapham, Stephen, 1793, 8, 9, Sanford, George, 1827, 8. 1800, 1. Seelye, David, 1786, 7. Mahoney, Cornelius, 1873. Seelye, Julius F., 1870. Mallory, John, 1807, 8, 9, 10, 11, Seelye, Nehemiah, 1775, 6, 7, 8. 12, 19, 20, 1. Seelye, Reuben, 1823. Merritt, Ichabod, 1767, 8, 9, 75, Simmons, Hiram, 1865. 6. Spencer, Henry, 1824, 5. Moon, Robert, 1794, 5, 6. Tearse, Archibald C, 1863. Morgan, Alonzo W., 1826. Vaughn, James, 1807, 10, 11, 12, MosHER, Isaac, 1845, 6. 13, 16, 17. Odell, Jacob, 1818, 19, 20, 1, 2. Vaughn, Stephen, 1866, 7. Parsons, Elnathan, 1822, 7, 8, Washburn, Miles, 1786. 9, 30. Winchip, Ansel, 1833, 47. Peck, Edmund, 1816. Winchip, Joel, 1840, 1, 2, 3, 4. Peck, Darius, 1857. Wing, Abraham, 1766, 7, 8, 9, 70, Peck, Hermon, 1837, 8, 9, 40, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 80, 3, 4, 5, 92. 2, 3. Wing, Benjamin, 1777, 8, 80, 97, Peck, Peter, 1788, 9, 90, 1. 8, 9, 1800, 6. Pettit, Micajah, 1814. Wing, Nehemiah, 1856, 7, 8, 9, Philo,' Henry, 1831, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 60, 1, 71. 61, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70, 1, 2, 3. Wright, Job, 1770. ^iTCHER, Jonathan, 1787. COMMISSIONERS OF HIGHWAYS.i Atherton, Archibald P., 1863, Bentley, Stephen, 1837, 1866, 7, 4, 5. 8, 9, 70. Babcock, Phineas, 1784, 5, 6, 7. Brayton, William, 1845, 6. Bartow, Elijah, 1792, 3. Brown, Benedick, 1775, 6, 7, 9. Beadlestone, Henry Jr., 1803, 4, Brown, Daniel, 1833. 5. Brown, Silas, 1783, 1804. Beadlestone, Stephen, 1802, 20. Brown, Valentine, 1790, 1. Bentley, John, 1873. Buckbee, Israel, 1835. Bentley, Richard, 1832, 4, 5. Burnham, Halsey, 1830, 1, 2. 1 Uutil nai, the office of pathmaster included all the duties devolving upon the commisuioners of highways, and was so desigaated in the records. 76 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Butler, Zachariah, (a) 1774. Chaimplin, David, 1836. CoDNER, Henry, 1835, 6. Coffin, John, 1848. Cornell, Benjamin, 1795. Darling, Gershom, 1790, 1. Dean, David M., 1834, 8, 51. Dunham, Elijah, 1814, 15. Fairchild, Asahel, 1833. Ferguson, Henry, 1839. Ferriss, John A., 1807, 23. Ferriss, Warren, 1795. Folger, Elisha, 1792, 7. Freeman, Jonathan W., 1838. Haviland, Roger, 1852, 3. Hay, Udney, 1789. Henderson, James, 1814. Hitchcock, John H., 1815. Hubbell, Dudley A., 1818, 19. HuBBELL, Frederic, 1825. Hubbell, Jonathan, 1786. Hubbell, Shadrach, 1793, 4. Jenkins, Jedediah, 1796, 7, 1800, 1. Jenkins, Palmer B., 1821, 2, 30, 1, 47, 8, 9. Johnson, William, 1777. Kendrick, Jabez, 1820. Kimberly, Israel, 1822. Fuller, Ebenezer, 1778. GrOODSPEED, STEPHEN, 1845, 6, 7, KiNGSLEY, JoHN, 1872. 8. Kipp, RuLiFP, 1842, 1872. Green, Amos, 1827, 8. Lapham, Stephen, 1798, 9. Griffin, Bartholomew, 1827, 9, Locke, Ira, 1849, 50. 39. Merritt, Ichabod, 1769. Griffin, Isaac B., 1837. Miller, John J., 1849, 50, 1 GuRNEY, Joseph, 1843. Morgan, Alonzo W., 1843. GuRNEY, William B., 1858, 9, 60, Morgan, Reuben, 1800, 1. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70. Harris, Brayton, 1857, 8, 9. Harris, Daniel, 1810, 11. Harris, Eliphalet, 1860, 1, 2. Harris, John B., 1840, 1. Harris, Morris, 1843. Harris, Moses, 1818, 26. / Mosher, Isaac, 1823, 4, 5, 44. Odell, Austin, 1795. Palmer, Tim M., 1821, 2, 4. Palmeter, James, 1827, 8, 30, 1, 2. Peck, Hermon, 1829. Pitcher, Alfred, 1814, 20, 1. Harris, Moses Jr., 1806, 7, 8, 9. ' Pitt, Levi, 1794. Haviland, Daniel S., 1850, 1, 2. Platt, Elmore, 1833, 4, 40. Haviland, Joseph, 1840, 56, 7, 8. Putnam, Benajah, 1766, 7. (a) From whom Butler brook, is understood to have derived its name. This is a small affluent of the Half-way brook, made up of three small streams which have their origin in the swamps and swales west of the village. It was at the upper branch, still- a much resorted to watering place, just north of the Warren county fair grounds, where General Washington with his staff stopped to drink, while on his way to Crown Point in 1783. Walter Briggs, who was at work in an adjoining field, was hailed by the party, and he brought his pail and tin cup, and dipped up water for the entire party. In the Washington correspondence are several allusions to this journey. . Butler is represented as having lived near the Knox place on the Bay road. Being a tory, at the outbreak of the Revolution, he secreted his effects, burying some of them in the cellar, and fled to Canada. At the time of Carleton's raid in 1780, the house was burned. Butler never returned. CIVIL LIST. 77 KiCHARDS, Edmund B., 1837. Wells, James, 1841, Ripley, Asa, 1817. Wells, Joel, 1853, 4, 5. Ripley, Doctor, 1819. Winchip, Ansel, 1828, 9. RoBARDS, William, 1784, 5, 6, 7, Winchip, Joel, 1796, 1802, 3, 5, 8,9,90, 1,8, 9. 6,7,8,9, 12, 13,44. Rogers, Jeremiah, 1816, 17. Winchip, Ransom J., 1859, 60, 1, Sanpord, Goold, 1826. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Seelyb, Reuben, 1810, 11, 12, 13, WiNa, Abraham, 1772, 3, 6, 80,4, 14, 16, 17. 5, 8. Seelye, Reuben Jr., 1836. Wing, Benjamin, 1768, 71, 5, 83, Selleck, Jonas, 1854, 5, 6. 7, 8, 9, 92, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9. Sherman, Burden, 1838, 9. Wing, Benjamin Jr., 1818, 19. Spencer, Henry, 1804, 5, 6, 8, 10, Wing, Joseph, 1802, 9. 11, 16. Wing, Nehemiah, 1812, 13. Staples, Anson R., 1868,9, 70, 1. Wing, Richard, 1844, 5, 6, 7, 8, Sweet, Dodge, 1841, 2. 52, 3, 4. Thomas, Seth, 1823, 4, 5, 6. Wing, William, 1815. TiBBiTS, Benjamin, 1800, 1, 3. Wood, John, 1842. Vanduzen, John R., 1861, 2, 3. Wright, Job, 1770. Wells, Hiram, 1855, 6, 7. FORESTERS.i Brown, Silas, 1775. Seelye, Nehemiah, 1775, 6. Putnam, Asaph, 1776. Wing, Abraham, 1775, 6. COLLECTORS. Allen, King, 1833, 4, 51. Carpenter, John S., 1855, Allen, Warren, 18f 8. Carswell, John, 1785. Atherton, Archibald P., 1867, Coffin, John P., 1844. Babcock, Phineas, 1777, 8. Coffin, Sanpord, 1850. Bailey, Joseph, 1790. "ForJes- Comstock, Samuel, 1863. sup's Patent," Corbett. John, 1872, 3, Bitley, Melville, 1859, 60, 1, 2, Cornell, Benjamin, 1798, 9. 6, 9, 70. Crossett, William, 1846, 7. Briggs, William, 1854. Eddy, John, 1788, 90, 1, Brown, Daniel V , 1848, 9. Ellis, Enoch, 1831, Brown, Daniel V., 1868, 71. Ferris, Alfred, 1815, 16, 17, 18, Brown, Silas, 1775, 80. 19, 20, 1. ' - ' ^\}^9 regular town meetings of 1775 and 6, it was voted "that any person or persons who sliall narbor or entertain or assist any person or persona from any county to hunt or kill any lawn buck, or doe, in Queensbury, in ye year ensuing shall forfeit and pay to the town treasurer the sum ot five pounds for the youce of the poor." It \yas further voted that the above named persons be appointed " to inspect persons that shall hunt the deer m Queensbury for the year ensuing." 78 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEEtTSBURY. Ferriss, James, 1792. Odell, Nathaniel, 1800. Fuller, Ebenezer, 1774, 9, 88, 9. Piersons, Arzel, 1810, 11, 12. GrAYGER, WiLLIAM H., 1857. PiTCHER, BeNJAMIN, 1797. Green, Archibald C, 1841. Pitts, Levi, 1795. Green, Ira, 1838, 9, 40. Ramsay, George B., 1856. Harris, Asa, 1793, 4. Ranger, Samuel, 1832. Hawley, Martin F., 1837. Ripley, Asa Jr., 1813. Hendryx, Benjamin, 1801, 2. Sanford, Elnathan, 1804, 5, 6, Hicks, Jacob, 1772. 7, 8, 9. HuBBELL, IcHABOD, 1796. Seelye, Nehemiah, 1783, 4. Jenkins, Ransom, 1830. Smith, Walter Jr., 1852, 3. JuDD, Denman C, 1842, 3. Spencer, Henry Jr., 1836. Martin, Henry, 1787. Tillotson, George J., 1864. Merritt, Ichabod, 1766, 7, 8, 9, Tripp, Thomas, 1786. 71, 3. Willard, George, 1865 Moon, Solomon, 1791, 2, 3. Wing, Abraham Jr., (a) 1814. Mosher, Isaac Jr., 1845. Wing, Benjamin, 1770, 6. Odell, Augustine M., 1835. White, James, 1822, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Odell, Benajah, 1803. 8, 9. (a) Abraham Wing was the youngest of seven children, and was bom in this village on the 17th of August, 1791. His mother, Polly McKie, was nearly related to the family of that name in the eastern part of Washington county. His father, Abram, was the youngest son of Abraham Wing the pioneer, a sketch of whose career is given elsewhere. The settlement, which in the slow process of years has expanded to the proportions of a large and populous village, was originally known by the name of Wing's Falls, a name which has a better claim to our speech than the one it bears. With such scant facilities as the sparsely settled country then aflforded, Mr. Wing succeeded in acquiring the elements of a sound business education, which served him through a long and busy life in the management of a vast and com- plicated business, and the widely extended relations of a large and continually in- creasing estate. Among his first ventures was a co-partnership with the late Josiah L. Arms, in the mercantile business at Emerson's Corners in the town of Wilton, Saratoga county New York. He was afterwards, at various times and for a series of years, associated in different business enterprises with the leading men of the place ; such names as Walter Qeer jr., George Sanford, William McDonald, and others gone before, but whose thrift, enterprise, and energy have left their impress upon our local affairs and contributed largely to the growth and prosperity of our village. With the opening up of the Northern canal, and the construction of the Glen's Falls feeder, a rare opportunity presented for utilizing the resources of the neigh- borhood and county. Mr. Wing had the forecast and judgment requisite for improving the golden chance, by bringing to market the splendid pines with which the great Brant lake tract abounded. This rich and extensive lumber region, previously oi)erated by the Fox brothers, Alanson and Norman, had come into the possession of parties in Troy, who in casting about for some one to man- age the business were referred to Mr. Wing as the most suitable and competent person in all this region, for the undertaking. To his sagacity and clear sighted ^■^ CIVIL LIST. 79 CONSTABLES. Allen, Avert, 1861, 4, 7, 8, 9, Brown, Charles L., 1835. 70, 1, 2, 3. Brown, Isaac, 1840. Allen, King, 1831, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Brown, Isaac S., 1837, 42. 44, 50, 1, 2. Brown, Stewart, 1849. Allen, Warren, 1858, 1871, 2, 3. Buck, David, 1773, 83, 5, 92. Atherton, Archibald P., 1867,8. Camp, Gardiner M., 1843. Baldwin, Amos, 1798. Carpenter, John S., 1855. Bates, Ebenezer, 1815, 16. Garswell, John, 1785. Bentley, Stephen, 1832. Caswell, James, 1795. Bitlet, Melville, 1859, 60, 1, 2, Champlain, John M., 1856, 7. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70. Chapman, Alvin, 1860. Bishop, Linus, 1826. Clark, Ansel, 1817, 18, 19, 20, 1. Brayman, Martin S., 1873. Comstock, Samuel, 1863. Briggs, Jabez, 1865, 6, 7, 8, 70, 1. Conery, Solomon, 1844. Briggs, William, 1854. Cook, Samuel, 1784. Brown, Charles, 1855. Corliss, Christopher C, 1850. judgment do we owe the present system of river-driving and booming which annually replenishes our mills, furnishes employment to a vast array of labor, and which has substantially helped in buildinor up our village to its present urban proportions. When he first took hold of the Brant lake property, the cry here was that the lumbering business was finished. The plains of Queensbury, to the foot of the West mountain, had been stripped and denuded of the towering white, and majestic yellow pines which once stretched their massive boles in rich profusion from the Pitcher place tathe Round pound of the Oneida. The magnificent water power of our falls was looked upon as next to worthless, and certainh' not warranting the outlay re- quired in the erection of such costly mills as now adorn our water front. No one dreamed that the forest of the far northern wilderness would ever become tribu- tary to our industries. No sooner, however, had Mr. Wing taken hold of this enterprise, than a new impulse was given to the whole lumbering business of the Hudson river and its affluents. The obstructions in the outlet of Brant lake were removed, a dam and sluice way were constructed and a new field of labor was inaugurated. The novel sight was witnessed of sluicing and driving the pine logs of that wilderness region, and its wealth has been poured down the breast of the majestic Hudson, building up colossal fortunes and giving impetus and vitality to a thousand ceaseless industries. From a trusted business agent, Mr. Wing speedily became a partner, and ultimately sole proprietor of this and other large lumber interests. About the year 1853, he disposed of his business and retired from the more active pursuits of life. He was then accounted one of the wealthiest men in the vicinity. From that period up to the date of his decease his time was principally devoted to the management of his large estate. Mr. Wing was a life long democrat, an earnest and euergertic politician. In the days of his active manhood he exerted a coutrolliag influence in his party, both in town and county ; and although no office seeker himself, those who 80 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. CoRBETT, John, 1872, 3. Cornell, Benjamin, 1798, 9. Covey, Amos, 1833. Crossett, William, 1844, 5, 6, 7, 54. Cunningham, Royal A., 1819. Darby, Joseph, 1857, 8. Derby, Archibald H., 1840, 1, 2, DiNGMAN, J. H., 1868. Doty, Isaac, 1784, DuNwicK, Isaac, 1847. DuRREEN, Alden, 1866, 7, 71, 2. Eastwood, Martin, 1817, 18. Eddy, John, 1788, 9. Ellis, Enoch, 1831, 2, 8. Ellis, Zabina, 1847. Elms, Clinton, 1857. Ferriss, Alfred. 1803, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1. Fisher, Sidney B., 1869, 70. Fuller, Ebenezer, 1775, 6, 88, 9, Fuller, Nathaniel, 1779. Graves, John, 1778. Green, Hazard, 1839, 42. Green, Ira, 1838, 9, 40. GuRNEY, William B., 1853. Harris, Asa, 1793, 4. Harris, Henry Jr., 1839. Hawley, Martin F., 1837. Hendryx, Benjamin, 1801, 2, 14. HiGsoN, James, 1777, 8, 80. Howard, Horace, 1831, 6, 7, 8, 47, 9, 53. Howe, Appleton, 1854. Howe, Clark, 1857. Hubbell, Ichabod, 1796, 7. Jenkins, Dewitt C, 1871, 2. Jenks, Lyman, 1825, 6, 7, 8, 9. Jones, Daniel, 1773, 6. Jones, James, 1784. were, generally took the precaution to ensure his kind offices, and powerful in- fluence in order to achieve their aims. Like most self made men, Mr. Wing's character had its rugged sides and salient points. He was a strong, earnest, untiring friend, a bitter, uncompromis- ing and unyielding opponent ; opinionated, self-reliant, and self-willed. Public spirited and liberal, every church in the village received his benefaction, every public enterprise his handsome contribution. At the outbreak of the rebellion he was among the heaviest subscribers to the relief fund for the benefit of the wives and children of the soldiers, and contributed all along in various ways towards the raising of recruits and bounties, in order that his native town might maintain its credit in the great struggle for the preservation of the Union. He was married three times. His first wife was Abigail Barnard of Townsend, Vt. His second was Augeline B. (Vail) widow of Alexander Robertson of New York. His third Mrs. Frances A. Glass, {nee Bowman). He had no issue except by bis first wife. Two children only reached adult age, both daughters and both mar- ried. He was for years subject to painful and frequently recurring attacks of ill- ness, resisted by a powerful and well preserved constitution, until at last, like a strongly rooted oak, exposed to tlie storms of years, he fell, and the places which knew him on earth shall know him no more. He died at his own home on the morning of the 13th of June, 1873. His deeds of generosity and kindness have embalmed his name in the memory of many still living, and in this hard and trying winter of 1874, there are poor, and destitute, and suffering families, who will miss the kind charities of ^^'-^^^^^->--^t/^^2^^ ^^^^ CIVIL LIST. 81 JuDD, Denman C, 1843. Kenworthy, John L., 1841. Knapp, Benjamin R., 1820. Knapp, Reuben W., 1852. Lamorie, John, 1873. Layton, Isaac L., 1848. Lewis, Andrew, (a) 1775, 80. Lewis, Robert, 1819, 20. McAuLEY, Hugh, 1786, 7, 8, 9, 90.^ Martin, Henry, 1786, 7. Matttocks, John, 1802, 4, 5, 6, 7. Mayo, Joseph, 1815. Mills, Calvin, 1831. Moon, Solomon, 1791, 2. Mosher, Charles, 1869, 70, 1. MosHER, Isaac, 1858, 9, 60, 1. Mosher, Isaac Jr., 1841, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 50, 1. Nelson, Asaph, 1834. €Jdell, Augustin M., 1833, 4, 5. Odell, Benajah, 1802, 3. Odell, Nathaniel, 1800, 1. Orton, Thomas, 1786, 7, 90, 1, 2, 4. Parsons, Andrew, 1810, 11, 12, 13. Parsons, Arzel, 1808, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Peck, Daniel, 1799, 1800. Peirson, Eli C, 1827, 8, 30. Pettys, Nathan, 1807, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Pettys, Oliver, 1799, 1800, 1. Pitcher, Benjamin, 1797, 8. Pitcher, Jonathan, 1785. *ITCHER, Jonathan Jr., 1793, 4, 5,6. Pitts, Levi, 1795. Putnam, Asaph, 1766, 7, 8, 9, 70, 12 4 6 7 Ramsay, George B., 1856. Ranger, Samuel, 1821, 2, 3, 4, 5. Rice, Eliakim, 1817. Ripley, Asa Jr., 1810, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18. Ripley, Doctor, 1823, 4. RoBARDS, William, 1783. RoBARDS, William Jr., 1797, 8. Sanpord, Elnathan, 1804, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. ScoFiELD, Willett, 1848, 9. Seelye, Julius F., 1866. Seelye, Nehemiah, 1776. Sewall, Rensselaer, 1859, 60, 1, 2, 71. Sheldon, Elias H., 1869. Sheldon, Uriah, 1822. Simpson, Peter, 1816, 17. Smith, Walter Jr., 1852, 3, 5, 6. Spencer, Henry Jr., 1836. {a) Andrew IjEWIS was one of the numerous sons-in-law of Abraham Wing the founder of Queeusbury. He migrated hither from New Milford, Conn., and was married to Mary, the youngest child of the family, some time anterior to the Revolution. At the time of the Parks massacre, he was a resident of the island at the falls, then belonging to Abraham Wing and known as Wing's island. He would pro- bably have been made a prisoner at that time if there had been any boats available for the purpose. Those who tried to reach him by wauing, were deterred from near approach by his rifle. He was twice made a prisoner during the Revolu- tionary war, andt aken to Canada the first time, as elsewhere narrated, being one of a fishing party at the head of the lake at the time of the capture of Fort Anne, during Burgoyne's campaign ; and the second time, at the period of Carleton's invasion, in 1781. The last time he remained until after the close of the war, receiving loans and assistance, as appears by the Wing pajiers, from Daniel Jones, and other refugee loyalists. Numerous descendants of this stock are still residing in the neighborhood of Glen's Falls. 11 82 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Spencer, Henry 2d, 1815, 16, 17. Spencer, John Gr., 1830. Steele, Lewis S., 1845, 6. Sturdevant, Levi, 1854. TiBBiTTS, Benjamin, 1803, 4, 5, 6. TiLLOTSoN, George J., 1864. Tripp, Thomas, 1786, 7. Vanduzen, Halsey, 1856. Vanduzen, John, 1824, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 30, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 40, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8. Vanduzen, John Jr., 1822, 3. Vantassel, Hermon D., 1829. Van Voorhees, William, 1862, 3. Vaughn, Wellington, 1862, 3, 4, 5. Varney, Harvey, 1855, 7, 8, 9. Walker, David, 1850, 1. West, Platt, 1851. White, James, 1821, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 30. White, William, 1790, 1. Whitney, George S., 1856. Willard, George, 1865. WiLMARTH, Martin L., 1853. Winchip, Alvin, 1852. Wing, Abraham Jr., 1779. Wing, Abraham Jr., 1813, 14. Wing, Daniel W., (a) 1801, 2, 4. Wing, Joseph, 1794, 5, 6, 7. Wing, William, 1803, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9. {a) Daniel Wood Wing (named after the father of his paternal grandmother) was the second child of Abraham Jr., and Polly (McKie) Wing, and was born on \^//P^f^~ the 25th of July, 1780, at the paternal homestead, a log building which stood a few rods east of the rail road crossing, at the rear of the old McDonald mansion on Warren street in this village. In October, 1781, " the year of the burning," as it was afterwards called in fireside story, while he was still a tender babe in his mother's arms, she fled at the ai)proach of Carleton's marauding expedition and took refuge in the friendly recesses of the big Cedar swamp, that still bor- ders, with its dense undergrowth and tangle of luxuriant vegetation, the eastern boundaries of the village. The night following, she laid concealed near the spring at the foot of Sandy Hill. It is said of her that she emigrated to this country, when she was but seventeen years of age. She was a woman, if all ac- counts be true, of fine presence, and rare personal attractions ; of undoubted courage and heroism, well adapted to the rude times, and rough border scenes of danger and peril in which she lived. It is stated that in the early days of the settlement, while living in the old log tavern on the site of Kenworthy's hard- ware and variety store, she killed a large rattle snake, which she found coiled by a spring of water, still in existence under Vermillia's market, and whither she had gone for her daily supply.' The rocks and ledges by the rivtsr banks, and the numerous swamps and swales of the neighborhood, aflbrded shelter and refuge in those days to vast numbers of rattle snakes, and their extermination is believed ' " ThiB inland (Diamond, in Lake Gcoige), as well as the one that is close to it, formerly wae 80 overrun with rattle nnakcs, that persons, when they passed the lake, seldom or ever ventured on them A batteaux in sailing up it, went near Diamond island, and among other things it contained several hogs which swum to the shore (the boat having capsized) as did the Cana- CIVIL LIST. 83 GAME CONSTABLES. CoNKEY, GrEORGE W., 1873. Jenkins, Dewitt C, 1872. FENCE VIEWERS AND APPRAISERS OF DAMAGE.i Babcock, Phineas, 1767, 70, 84, Brownson, Samuel, 1769. 5. Butler, Truelove, (a) 1771. Bennett, David, 1783. Cornell, Benjamin, 1802. Briggs, Jeremiah, 1783. Daly, Pardon, 1780. Brown, Silas, 1779, 92, 3, 5, 6, 7, Folger, Elisha, 1790, 1, 1805. 8, 9, 1800, 1, 2, 3, 4. Fuller, Ebenezer, 1772. to be due chiefly to tlie active agency of swine running at large rather than any other cause. In his youth, there was a private school kept in the settlement by one Seba Bement, a Quaker, to whom Daniel W., as well as the other children of the family was doubtless indebted for whatever elementary education he may have had. In 1803, the town records show that he was keeping tavern in a building which stood on the site of D. H. Cowles & Co.'s, store at the junction of Ridge and Warren streets, where from various existing memoranda, it is presumed that he carried on a mixed business of merchandising and hotel keeping for a number of years. According to the family record he was living at Sandy Hill in 1809, where he kept a tavern in a building whose site is now covered by the Middleworth House, where he continued until the year 1814, when the town records show him to be again a resident of the town of Queensbury, He must very shortly after have removed to Fort Edward, where he located and resided for a number of years in the lower part of the village, near the place now occupied by S. R. Durkee. Here he embarked in the mercantile and lumbering business and amassed a large fortune. He was a man of excellent sense and judgment, perservering, ener- getic, and tenacious of purpose. He was for many years considered the leading man of the place with which his fortunes were indentified. He married first, on the 25th of July, 1803, Rhoda Stewart of Kingsbury. She died 8th Feb., 1823 ; second, Almira Higby (still living), Aug. 18th, 1825. He died in the communion of the Episcopal church, 25th of May, 1856. (a) The only information the author has succeeded in obtaining in regard to this dians, who were rowing it up : the latter, in apprehension of the rattle snakes, climbed up trees for the night, and the next morning observing a batteanx, they hailed the people in it, who took them in and convej'ed them to Port Georoje. Sometime after, the man who owned tae hogs being unwilling to lose them, returned down the lake, and with some comrades ventured a search. After traversing the island a considerable time, they at last found them, but so prodigiously fat, that they could scarcely move, and in their Bearch only met with one rattle snake, which greatly surprised them, as the island was reported to abound with them. Their wonder, however, was not of long duration, for, being short of pro- vissions, they killed one of the hogs, the stomach of which was filled with rattle snakes."— jlra- hurq's Travels, vol. 1, p. .387. ' In 180(5 (and every year thereafter, until a change in the law rendered such action unneces- ary ) it was voted that the overseers of highways should be fence viewers and appraisers of damage in their respective districts. 84 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Hendryx, Abraham, 1794, 5, 6. HiasoN, James, 1780. HuBBELL, Jonathan, 1779. Hull, Daniel, 1784, 5. Johnson, William, 1777. Lapham, Stephen, 1790, 1, 7. 8, 9, ISOO, 1. Merritt, Ichabod, 1774, 5, 6. Pitcher, Jonathan, 1786, 7, 8, 9. Putn'Xm, Asaph, 1768, 9, 70, 1, 3, 4,6,7. Seelye, Nehemiah, 1772, 3, 5, 8. Sweet, Benoni, 1788, 9. Thomas, Israel, 179:;i, 3, 4. Washburn, Miles, 1786, 7. W^inchip, Joel, 1803, 4, 5. Wing, Abraham, 1768. W^iNG, Benjamin, 1767, 78. Hicks, Jacob, (o) 1772. FIREMEN.' Merritt, Ichabod, 1772. personage, is derived from the following, whicti is a copy of a paper contained in the Wing Manuscripts. " Memorandum this Ninth day of November in the year 1769, that I Jemima Butler widow, formerly wife to John Butler Deceased formerly both of Beekman's Precinct in Dutchess County and Province of New York Did Put and bind By In- denture our Son Truelove Butler an Apprentice to Abraham Wing him faithfully to Serve During the time the Sd Indentures Specifyed which was about thirteen years and that time Being Expired ye Sd Apprentice is free and We the Said But- lers Did take and Receive an indenture of Abraham Wing, According to Custom and form obligating the Said Wing to Preform Sundry Duties and Preformances and Payments to our Sd Son, at the end of his Apprentice, which the Sd Abraham Wing has faithfully, honestly, and Compleatly fulfilled payed and don according to the Indenture, and our Satisfaction, and the Indentures which we had Being Not to be found and Lost, W^e the Subscribers Do By These Presents Acquit, Release and for Ever Discharge the Sd Abraham Wing from all agreements Promises Covenants and Payments in Sd Indenture Contained whatsoever. As Witness our hands the Day and Year above Written." Witnesses. John Smith Jr., Aaron Butteler, Reed Ferriss. her Jemima X Buttler, mark Truelove Buttler. eu^L (a) Was a son-in-law of Abraham Wing, having married, when she was at the tender age of fourteen, Content, the seventh child of Abraham and Anstis (Wood) ' This office pecms to be analogons to the fire warden of the present day. The following ex- tract explain? the duties apixTtaining to this otflce. At a common council held at the City Hall in Albany, 2()th of October, 1(18(1, it was : " Ordered that ye fyrema^'t('rf> goe about and visite each res])ective house in ye city, to sec if there chimneys aiid fyrelleartll^^ be sullicient, and also that care be taken that ye ladders and fyre hooks be upon there "places and in reparc. all which is r^70. 2 MoTT, Zebulon W., 1850, 3. 2 :n orris, Daniel G. 2d, 1870, 1, 2. 3 NoRRis, Daniel G., 1870, 1, 2. 1 Odell, Benjamin, 1843, 9. 2 Paddock, Ira A., 1846. No. of District. 2 Peck, Marvin R., 1872. 4 Philo, Henry, 1864. 2 Platt, Myron, 1856. 3 Rich, Marcus C, 1859. 1 Ripley, Reuben, 1860. 3 Roberts, Charles, 1872. 2 Robertson, Alexander, 1857. 2 Robinson, Frederick, 1855, 6. 1 Scott, Joseph M., 1853, 4. 1 Seelye, Lemuel C. P., 1844, 58, 9. 1 Seelye, Reuben, 1855. 1 SissoN, Daniel H., 1867. 1 SissoN, James, 1851, 2. 2 Slocum, Warren, 1855. 4 Smith, Eugene A., 1872, 3. 1 Smith, H. J., 1863. 3 Smith, Walter, 1859. 1 Smith, Warren J., 1865, 6, 7, 70, 2. 2 Sprague, Merritt, 1854. 4 Stewart, L. B., 1865. 4 Stewart, Robert, 1866, 7, 8, 9, 70, 1, 2, 3. 2 Swan, Luke W., 1861, 5. 2 Tearse, Archibald C, 1861. 2 Thompson, Charles, 1858. 2 Tho.mpson, John S., 1865, 6, 7, 8. 2 Vanderheyden, George, 1859. 2 Vanduzen, H., 1860. 4 Vanduzen, Hiram, 1862. 4 Van Heusen, Jacob, 1863, 4, 8,9. 2 Vaughn, Eleazer S., 1843, 5, 6, 7, 8. 1 Vaughn, William M., 1847. 2 Wells, Bethuel, 1869. 1 Wells, Joel, 1845, 57. 2 Wells, Hiram, 1862, 4. 2 Wells, Hiram H., 1863. 2 Whipple, Archibald P., 1857, 8, 9, 60, 1, 2. 88 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. No. of District. No. of District.' 2 VViLMARTH, Martin L., 1850, 3 Winchip, Ransom J., 1873. 4, 5. 2 Wing, Halsey R., 1853. 3 WiLMARTH, M. L., 1858, 62, 6, 3 Wing, H. R., 1860, 3, 5. 8. 1 Wing, Nehemiah, 1859. 1 Winchip, Ansel, 1852, 3. 2 Wing, Richard, 1851. 3 Winchip, Joel P., 1S60, 6. 2 Witherel, Bethuel, 1866. OVERSEERS OF HIGHWAYS, OR PATHMASTERS. Ainsworth, John, 1864, 5, 72, 3. Allen, Peleg, 1836. Allen, Warren, 1872. Allen, William, 1813, 17. Allston, G., 1867. Allston, John, 1849, 51. Allston, John E., 1868, 72, 3. Anderson, Courtney, 1865, 6. Anderson, Rupus, 1856,^63. Andrews, Levi, 1822. Arnold, William, 186(t. AsHER, Joseph, 1865. Auckland, Charles, 1842, 8, 66, 7,9. Austin, Francis, 1848. Austin, John, 1842. Austin, John D., 1843, 4, 6, 7. Austin, Phineas, 1796. Austin, Puineas G., 1845, 50, 7,8. Baker, Almon J., 1841, 3, 50, 1, 2, 5, 6, 60, 3, 4, 8, 9, 70, 2. Baker, Alanson, 1855, 7. Baker, Amos, 1846, 7. Baker, Everett C, 1857. Baker, Gardiner, 1850, 2, 3, 4, 67. Baker, Henry, 1845, 6, 7, 8, 9, 50, 1. Baker, Howaud, 1855. Baker, Howoill. 1868. Baker, Reuben, 1850. Baker, Stephen, 1800. Baker, W. W... 1864. Ball, Samuel, 1834. Barber, Daniel, 1860. Barber, David, 1835, 6, 7, 43, 51. Barber, Hiram, 1838. Barber, John, 1854, 64. Barber, Simeon T., 1842. Barber, William H., 1867, 72, 3. Barber, Zebadiah, 1857. Barden, Lyman A., 1854, 72. Barker, Henry, 1859. Barker, Nicholas, 1792. Bartow, Elijah, 1790, 5. Bates, Cornell A., 1843, 5. Bates, Ebenezer, 1820, 33, 4, 5, 6, 47. Bates, George, 1806. Bates, Georgk, 1858. Bates, John K., 1832. Bates, Levi, 1861, 2, 3. Bates, Royal, 1872, 3. Bates, Luther, 1851, 2. Bates, William, 1852, 5, 63. Beadlestone, Carmi, 1832, 4. Beadlestone, Charles, 1835, 8. Beadlestone, Henry, 1799, 1803. Beadlestone, Henry, 1862, 8. Beadlestone, Henry Jr., 1802. Beadlestone, Henry J., 1857, 67. Beadlestone, Job, 1802, 4, 8, 9, 11, 16,24,39,43,4,5,6,7,8,9! CIVIL LIST. 89 Beadlestone, Johnson, 1846. Breene, Patrick, 1869, 72, 3. Beadlestone, Stephen, 1800, 1, Briggs, James, 1833, 56. 5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17. Briggs, Jeremiah, 1787, 90, 5. Beadlestone, William, 1851, 2. Briggs, Jeremiah, 1834. Beebe, John, 1809. Briggs, John, 1824, 32. Bell, George, 1863. Briggs, Walter, 1797, 8, 1808, Bell, William, 1853, 6, 60. 12, 13, 19, 23. Bennett, Charles, 1868, 9. Brill, Cornelius, 1825. Bennett, Thomas, 1840. , Brown, Asa, 1793. Bennett, Thomas B., 1849, 51. Brown, Asa, 1855, 64. Bentley, Asa, 1823, 6. Brown, Asahel C, 1868, 9, 70. Bentley, Cornelius, 1839. Brown, Benedick, 1775, 6, 7, 9, Bentley, David, 1836. 86. Bentley, Isaac, 1840. Brown, Benedick, 1847. Bentley, John, 1853, 68, 70, 3. Brown, Benjamin, 1816. Bentley, Joseph, 1798, 1803. Brown, Charles, 1867, 9. Bentley, Joseph, 1850. Brown, Daniel, 1832, 41, 7, 53, Bentley, Richard, 1809, 11, 12, 4, 7, 61, 2. 14, 16, 18, 21, 4, 33, 6, 7, 9, 40. Brown, George, 1843, 6, 7, 58, 9, Bentley Richard 2d, 1833. 60, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 70, 2, Bentley, Stephen, 1841, 2, 8, 9, 3. 51, 2, 5, 64. Brown, George V., 1820. Bentley, Warren, 1856. Brown, Howgill, 1794, 1813. Bishop, Jesse, 1842, 4, 5. Brown, Howgill Jr., 1826. Blackburn, Robert, 1867, 8. Brown, John, 1810, 12. Blood, Charles, 1844. Brown, John, 1864, 5, 6, 8. BoYCE, William, 1848. Brown, Justus, 1799, 1805. Boyle, John, 1809. Brown, Justus Jr, 1824, 33. Bratt, Isaac, 1839, 40, 1, 2, 3, 4, Brown, Lewis, 1867, 8, 70, 2, 3. 6, 51, 2. Brown, Nathaniel, 1822, 38. Brayton, Asa, 1857, 64. Brown, Richard, 1811, 14, 18, Brayton, Asa W., 1840, 6, 7, 61, 25, 37, 63. 9, Brown, Roswell, 1868, 72. Brayton, Danford, 1873. Brown, Schuyler, 1808, 9. Brayton, George, 1865. Brown, Silas, 1783, 4, 5, 92, 7, Brayton, John, 1803. 1800, 1, 4, 6, 12, 14. Brayton, John, 1832, 54. Brown, Stephen, 1810, 20, 34, 6. Brayton, Moses, 1820, 2, 6, 32, Brown, Timothy, 1810, 19. 6, 9, 41, 2, 3. Brown, Truman, 1859, 60, 1, 5, 6, Brayton, Orlin, 1837, 9, 40, 2, 7. 3, 8, 50, 4, 5, 6, 60. Brown, Valentine, 1787, 92, 7, Brayton, Wellington, 1863. 1801, 2. Breene, Edward, 1870, 3. Brown^ William, 1863, 70. 12 90 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. Brumaqem, Andrew, 1866, 8. Bryan, Patrick, 1862. Buck, Allen, 1833. Buck, David, 1787, 92,1801, 4,5. Buck, Ebenezer, 1794. Buck, Elias, 1805. Buck, John, 1796. BucKBEE, David, 1864. BucKBEE, Ezra, 1856. BucKBEE, Ezra I., 1841, 5, 9. BucKBEE, Israel, 1835, 6, 7, 9. BucKBEE, Jeremiah, 1834. Buckbee, Luman, 1864. Buckbee, Lyman, 1854. Burnham, David, 1815, 19. BuRNHAM, Halsey, 1821, 6, 32,3, 6,8,40, 2, 6,7, 9, 54, 5, 6,7. Burnham, John, 1839, 67. Burton, Hiram, 1845, 53, 4, 5, 6, 7. Bush, John, 1855, 7, 60, 3, 4. Butler, James, 1806. Butler, Zachariah, 1774. Calkins, Simon, 1805. Camp, Job S., 1854, 5, 64, 5. Carl, Duncan, 1843. Casey, Chester, 1840, 3, 8. Caswell, Reuben, 1792. Chadwick, William, 1858. Champlain, Daniel, 1865, 73. Champlain, David, 1834, 6, 7. Champlain, Horatio B., 1857, 8, 9,60, 1,2, 3,4, 5, 6,7,70,2, 3. Chapman, Albert, 1854. Chapman, Elisha, 1800. Chapman, Jehiel, 1802. Chapman, John, 1850, 1, 2, .3, 62, 3, 6, 9, 72. Cheney, William 1869. Cheeseborough, Mortimer, 1868, 9. Chestnut, William, 1858, 64. Church, Nathaniel, 1868. Clark, Ansel, 1816, 22. Clark, Stephen, 1814. Clements, Allen, 1857, 61, 6, 7, 8, 70. Clements, Gilbert, 1860, 1, 3, 6,7. Clements, John P., 1853, 63, 72. Clements, Tobias, 1857. Clendon, John, 1859. 60, 3. CoDNER, Henry, 1834, 9, 61, 2,8. Codner, Henry Jr., 1853. Coffin, Charles, 1846, 7. Coffin, Charles P., 1849. Coffin, Elisha, 1852, 61, 2. Coffin, Elisha F., 1858. Coffin, John, 1855, 60, 6. Coffin, John B., 1873. Coffin, Marcellus, 1862, 4, 5, 6,7. Coffin, Sanford, 1861, 2, 3, 7. Cole, Elijah, 1843. Cole, Lemuel 1806. Collins, Benjamin, 1794. CoMMERS, John, 1870. Comstock, John A., 1836, 7. Cook, Daniel, 1810. Cornell, Edward, 1855, 6, 60. Cornell, James, 1848. Cornell, John, 1840. Corn WELL, Benjamin, 1794. CoRNWELL, Thomas, 1785. Crandell, Harlow, 1836, 43. Crandell, James, 1864. Crandell, James S., 1843. Crandell, Peter, 1838. Crannell, James, 1858. Crannell. John, 1832, 47. Crannell, John M., 1870, 2. Crannell, Robert, 1850, 1, 68. Cranny, Robert, 1838, 9. Credin, Daniel, 1872. Credon, Patrick, 1873. Cromwell, John M., 1858. Cronin, Daniel, 1873. CIVIL LIST. 91 Cronkhite, John, 1859. Crossett William, 1851. Curtis, Enos, 1804, 6. Gushing, John S., 1854. Daly, Samuel, 1805. Daly, Samuel, 1872. Danpord, Elisha, 1812, 13, 14, 17. Darby, John, 1819. Darling, John, 1790. Davidson, James, 1859, 60, 70, 3. Davidson, Moses, 1840, 56. Davis, William, 1816, 22, 3, 34, 5, 6, 8, 45, 6. Day, John C, 1810, 21. Dean, David M., 1819, 20, 32, 4, 5, 7, 9. Dean, Henry, 1826. Dean, Joel, 1799. Dean, Willett, 1809, 13. Pean, William, 1851, 5, 7, 8. Dennis, Britton, 1799. Dennis, Henry, 1825. Densmore, David, 1847, 9, 58, 64. Densmore, James, 1864. Dexter, Joel, 1840, 1, 2, 3, 6. Dickinson, Alonzo, 1862. Dickinson, E. S., 1869. Dickinson, Moses, 1850. Dickinson, Salmon, 1816, 21, 3, 6, 41, 2, 6, 8, 60. Dickinson, Samuel, 1846, 7. Dickinson, Thomas, 1802. Dickinson, Warren, 1841, 8. Dixon, Alanson, 1844, 5, 6, 9, 50, 3,4,6,7, 8, 9,61, 2, 9. Dixon, Joel, 1840, 4. DooLiTTLE, John, 1799. Doty, Samuel, 1795. Doty, William, 1869. Dunham, Elijah, 1813, 14, 15. Durreen, Chauncey, 1851, 2, 3, 4, 61, 7, 8. Eaglestone, Giles, 1834. Eaglestone, John, 1790, 2, 3. Eaglestone, Zebulon, 1794. Eastwood, Martin, 1820. Eastwood, Martin Jr., 1845, 7. Eddy, Charles R., 1867, 70, 2, 3. Edmond, Walter, 1832. Ellis, Enoch, 1865. Ellis Nichols, 1824. Ellis, Zabina, 1858. Ellsworth, John, 1866, 7, 8. Elms, DeWitt C, 1845. Elms, Pardon M., 1843. EsTABROOK, Samuel, 1833. Fairchild, Agur, 1788. Fairchild, Asahel, 1825, 33, 4. Fairchild, Daniel, 1806, 18, 19, 22, 32, 3. Fairchild, Daniel D., 1834. Fairchild, Peter, 1787, 8, 9, 90, 92. Fairchild, Samuel, 1786. Fairchild, Seneca, 1820. Fancher, Henry, 1851. Fancher, Isaac, 1813, 26, 33, 5. Fancher, Isaac D., 1858, 9. Fancher, John, 1839. Fancher, W. W., 1863. Ferguson, Henry, 1843. Ferris, Alfred, 1808. Ferris, Benjamin W., 1833, 9, 40. Ferris, David, 1786. Ferris, Horace, 1817. Ferris, James, 1789, 90. Ferris, John A., 1797. Ferris, Morris, 1799, 1806. Ferris, Warren, 1793. Finch, Michael C, 1856, 8, 9, 62, 3. Fisher, Henry, 1837. Fisher, Sidney B., 1855. Flewelling, Timothy, 1833, 51, 2, 9, 60. FoLGER, Elisha, 1786, 9, 90, 2. FoLsoM, Daniel, 1822. 92 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Force, Freeman, 1809. Foster, Joseph, 1854. F0STER,J0SEPH Jr., 1855, 6. Fowler, John G., 1866. Franklin, Daniel, 1819. Freeman, William, 1813. Frink, Joseph, 1794. Fritz, Francis, 1826. Fuller, Allen, 1837. Fuller, Benjamin, 1796, 7, 18, 19. Fuller, Benjamin, 1855. Fuller, Cornelius. 1825. Fuller, DeWitt C, 1861, 2. Fuller, Ebenezer, 1778, 87. Fuller, Edward, 1795, 21. Fuller, Garrett, 1843, 51, 2. Fuller, George, 1851, 2, 61. Fuller, James M., 1817, 32, 7. Fuller, Matthew, 1792, 1804. Fuller, Olley, 1848. Gage, John, 1855, 6, 8, 9, 68, 9, 73. Garland, James, 1873. Garrett, Weight, 1803. Gazlay, John F., 1837, 42. Gifpord, Benjamin, 1819, 20. GiPPORD, Joseph, 1854. Gillespie, John C, 1833. GiLLEY, Isaac, 1858, 9, 60. Gleason, Harvey, 1858, 9, 60, 2, 3. GooDENOW, H., 1822. Goodenow, Timothy, 1821, 3, 34, .5, 7, 43. GooDSPEED, Stephen, 1843, 6. Gourlay, William N., 1870, 2. Graves, Bela, 1821, 4, 6. Green, Charles H., 1861. Green, Haviland, 1845. Green, Henry, 1837, 58. Green, Levi, 1836, 45. Griffin, Alonzo, 1855, 7. Griffin, Bartholomew, 1825, 88, 9,44. Griffin, Caleb, 1833. Griffin, Gershom, 1832, 3, 4. Griffin, Haviland, 1835, 6, 7, 8, 9, 40, 1, 2, 3, 4, 57, 65, 6. Griffin, Isaac, 1838, 9. Griffin, Isaac B., 1822, 5, 33, 42, 4, 5, 8, 9, 51, 2. Griffin, Isaiah, 1835, 6, 8, 9, 41. Griffin, John, 1804, 6. Griffin, John, 1858, 9, 60, 2, 3, 4, 72. Griffin, Jonathan, 1807, 16, 17, 24. Griffin, Seneca, 1836, 41, 5, 6, 54. Griffin, William, 1842, 3. 50. Gross, Crowell, 1792. Grosvenor, Elijah, 1795. GuRNEY, Abraham, 1833, 46. GuRNEY, David A., 1850, 1, 2. GuRNEY, Enoch, 1822, 5, 36 ^ GuRNEY, John, 1832. GuRNEY, John B., 1821. GuRNEY, Joseph H., 1832, 43. GuRNEY, William B., 1850, 62,7, 9,73. Guyette, Lewis, 1863, 4. Hackett, Andrew, 1848, 50. Hackett, Ebenezer, 1822, 39,45, 6, 7, 8. Hackett, Pearl, 1857, 62. Hackett, Robert, 1856. Haight, Ambrose, 1816, 18. Haight, Isaiah, 1809, 15. Haight, Josiah, 1806. Haight, Solomon, 1804, 9. Haines, Henry, 1868. Halleck, Amos, 1837, 8, 48. Hamilton, Levi, 1823. Hamlin, Luman, 1866. Hammond. Ebenezer, 1815. Hammond, Thomas, 1820. Hammond, Walter, 1839, 40, 1. Hanna, James, 1869. Hanson, John, 1823. I CIVIL LIST. 93 Hardin, Jesse, 1848, 54, 5. Haviland, Daniel T , 1858. Harris, Asa, 1808. Haviland, Daniel S., 1841, 53, Harris, Asa S., 1853, 60, 7, 73. 63, 4, 5, 9. Harris, Benjamin, 1835, 45, 6, 53. Haviland, David, 1859. Harris, Brayton, 1843, 8, 51, 8, Haviland, David J., 1852, 6. 9, 64, 9, 50. Haviland, George, 1850. Harris, Charles, 1820, 1. Haviland, Henry, 1844. Harris, Daniel, 1802, 8, 17. Haviland, John, 1868. Harris, Elifalet, 1853. Haviland, John G., 1838, 40, 8, Harris, Ezra, 1872, 8. 56, 61. Harris, George, 1820. Haviland, John G. 2d, 1870. Harris, Henry, 1806, 15, 22. Haviland, John M., 1836, 7, 9, Harris, Henry, 1859, 63, 6, 70, 3. 43, 6, 53, 4. Harris, John, 1856, 9, 65,6, 7, Haviland, Joseph, 1833, 7, 9, 42, 70. 5,7,8,9,50,3,5,7,60,1,2,4, Harris, John B., 1841. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70, 2. Harris, John F., 1815, 18, 23. Haviland, Joseph Jr., 1869, 73. Harris, John J., 1832, 3, 4, 6, 42, Haviland, Roger, ") 1832, 3, 65. Haviland, Roger Jr., J 5, 6, 7, Harris, Joseph, 1838, 48, 53. 8, 45, 7, 58, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 1, Harris, Joshua, 1811. 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9. Harris, Marvin C, 1835, 53. Haviland, Roger E., 1870. Harris, Moses, 1804. Haviland, Roger F., 1862. Harris, Moses, 1832, 46, 8, 50, 3, Haviland, Roger T., 1820. 63, 4, 5. Haviland, William, 1850, 67, 8. Harris, Moses Jr., 1811, 12, 17. Hawkes, William, 1833. Harris, Moses Jr., 1839, 43, 5, 6, Hawkins, Zachariah, 1847. 56. Hawley, Daniel, 1835. Harris, Moses R., 1856. Hawley, Elias, 1818. Harris, Moses W., 1832. Hayes, Thomas, 1802. Harris, Rupus, 1883, 56. Hays, David, 1814. Harris, Samuel, 1825, 6, 33, 9, Hays, Nathan, 1804. 53, 4, 5. Hendryx, Abraham, 1795, 6, Harris, Thomas, 1843, 58. 1803. Harris, William, 1799, 1805. Hendryx, Amos, 1833, 56, 9, 67, Harris, William B., 1809, 12, 18. 8, 70, 2. Harris, Veniah, 1857, 60, 8. Hendryx, Benjamin, 1796, 1813, Harris, Veniah W., 1838, 48, 55, 23. 70, 2, 3. . Herald, John, 1857. Hartman, Joel, 1852, 3. Hessey, Peter, 1845. Hartman, Leonard, 1864. Higson, James, 1793, 7, 1800. Harvey, Henry, 1809, 22, 26. Higson, John, 1804, 10, 16, 17. Harvey, Samuel, 1810, 18. Hill, Jesse, 1858, 60. Haviland, Abraham, 1809, 10. Hillis, James, 1857, 61. 94 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Hitchcock, Gteorge, 1868, 9. Hitchcock, Jared, 1834. Hitchcock, John H., 1815. HODGINS, GrEORQE, 1850. HoDGiNS, James, 1857, 9, 62, 9, 70, Holbrook, Joel, 1839, 40. Holt, Robert, 1840, 3, 4, 5, 6. Hopkins, Alanson B., 1843, 4, 53, 4, 60. Hopkins, Amos, 1826. Hopkins, John H., 1870. Hopkins, Richard, 1803, 14. Howard, Horace, 1846, 62, 3, 72, Howard, Stephen, 1786. Howard, Thomas, 1823. Howe, Lewis, 1862. Hubbard, Edwin, 1860. HuBBELL, Dudley A., 1815, 17, 18, 45, 6. Hubbell, Dudley F., 1851. Hubbell, Dudley M., 1841, 6, 7, 50. Hubbell, Frederick, 1810, 19, 20, 4, 32, 51, 2. Hubbell, Frederick S , 1842, 55, 63,9. Hubbell, Horace, 1872, 3. Hubbell, Jerome, 1872, 3. Hubbell, John, 1854, 7. Hubbell, John P., 1858, 9, 60, 1, 2,3,7,8. Hubbell, John R., 1850 Hubbell, Shadrach, 1813, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1, 2, 35, 6, 64, 5. Huddlestone, William, 1853, 4. Hull, Daniel, 1809 Hull, Daniel Jr., 1813. Hull, Joseph, 1841, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 57,8. Hull, Lemuel, 1864. Hull, Leonard D., 1869, 70, 2, 3. Hull, Nelson, 1862, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 72, 3. Hull, Orange, 1859, 60. Hull, Orville, 1855. HuRD, Elijah, 1855, 68. HussEY, Nathan, 1848. HuTCHiNS, George, 1848. Irish, Amos, 1818. Jenkins, Alexander, 1833, 9. Ansel, 1854. Barnabas, 1848, 9. Gary, 1811, 12, 16, 18, 3. Chauncey, 1865. Clark, 1822, 40, 4, 5. Gamaliel, 1857, 8. Jedediah, 1797, 8. Jedediah, 1834, 52. Jedediah S., 1823,6,37, 4,9. Joseph, 1815, 33. Lyman, 1851, 7, 68. Palmer, 1803, 26. Palmer B., 1840. Ransom, 1822, 35, 41,4, Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins 19,20, Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins 43, 51 Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins 5. Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins Jenkins Johnson Johnson Rensselaer, 1853. Reynolds, 1849. Samuel, 1866, 9. Simeon, 1804, 8. Thomas, 1801. John, 1815. William, 1777. JosLiN, LoRiN, 1859, 60, 1, 2. Kenyon, John, 1797, 8. Ketchum, Warren, 1852, 9, 60, 70, 3. KiLLDUFF, Bryan, 1856, 7. KiLLMER, Henry, 1840, 56, 65. Kingsley, John, 1870. Kipp, RuLiFP, 1841, 3, 5, 6. Kirkham, Thomas L., 1846, 9. KiRKPATRiCK, John, 1854, 8,9, 70. Knapp, Isaac, 1818, 48, 50, 1. Knapp, Isaac Jr., 1851. Knapp, Isaac J., 1841. CIVIL LIST. 95 Knapp, Leonard, 1848. Knox, Henry, 1867, 8. Knox, William, 1853. Lane, Leonard, 1825. Lane, Lewis, 1821, 2. Langdon, Benjamin, 1833. Langdon, Richard, 1844, 5, 7, 8, 9, 65. Langdon, Samuel, 1842, 9. Langdon, Thomas, 1835. Lapham, Benjamin, 1813, 19, 20, 2,3. Lapham, Jonathan, 1826. Lapham, Stephen, 1786, 8, 97, 9, 1800. Lapoint, Stephen, 1862. Larose, James, 1867, 8. Larose, Joseph, 1866. Lauder, David, 1846, 7, 9, 50, 2, 3, 4, 9, 60, 3, 70. Lauder, John, 1869. Lauder, John B., 1861, 2. Lauder, Joseph, 1864. Leavins, Royal, 1817, 26. Lemoin, John, 1826. Lockhart, George, 1863. Lockhart, James, 1857, 62, 5, 6, 7,8. Lockhart, John, 1860. Long, Robert, 1856. Loop, Benjamin, 1850, 1, 2. - Lord, Asa, 1824, 33,41, 2. Lord, Asa L., 1826. Lord, Ira, 1836, 44. Lord, Levi, 1837. McAuLEY, James, 1852. McAuley, Hugh, (a) 1786, 7, 8, 9,92. McCrippen, Thomas, 1850. McCumber, Jonathan, 1806, 12. McDonald, Alexander, 1857, 8. McDonald, Daniel, 1868, "9, 70, 2,3 McDonald, Richard, 1841, 5. McDonald, William, 1869, 72. McDouGALL, William, 1870. McEachron Daniel D., 1848. McEachron, John, 1861, 3, 70, 2,3. McKinney, William, 1848, 72. Madison, Job, 1867. Marshal, Francis, 1792, 5. Mason, Calvin, 1860, 1, 7. Matteson, John, 1868, 73. Mattison, Charles, 1814. Mattocks, James, 1803, 4. Mattocks, John, 1800. Mead, Anson, 1834. Mead, Enos, 1866, 8, 9, 70. Mead, Ezra, 1838, 44, 5. Mead, John H., 1867, 9, 70, 3. Merritt, Ichabod, 1769. Mickle, Henry, 1852. Millard, George, 1872. Millard, Stephen, 1804, 9, 11, 14. Miller, Ashbell, 1801. Miller, John, 1862, 3. Mills, Calvin, 1839. Moon, Andrew, 1870. Moon, Robert, 1797, 8. Moon, Robert Jr., 1806. Moon, Solomon, 1801, 5, 6, 15. Moore, Eli, 1847, 8, 51, 2. Morgan, James W.. 1872, 3. Morgan, Reuben, 1797, 1811, 22, 3, 5. Moses, Henry, 1826. Moses, William H., 1857, 64, 5, 6. (a) Conjectured to be the ancestor of the McAuley family of Glen's Falls. On the 11th of April, 1796, an act was passed by the State Legislature for the relief of Hugh McAuley granting him two hundred acres out of vacant, unappropriated lands in the eastern district of the state. 96 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. MosHER, Benjamin S., 1844. MosHER, Christopher H., 1838. MosHfeR, Daniel, 1857. MosHER, Isaac, 1821, 34, 8, 9, 49. MosHER, Isaac Jr., 1847. MosHER, Nathan, 1848, 52. MoYNAHEN, Timothy, 1872, 3. Paddock, Ira A., 1861. Palmer, Alexander, 1833. Palmer, George, 1861. Palmer, John, 1832. Palmer, Tim M., 1826, 34. Parrish, Rice R., 1870, 2, 3. Parks, John K., 1809. Murray, Aaron Gr., 1857, 9, 60, Parks, Joseph, 1813. 5. Parsons, Charles, 1850, 66, 7, 8, Murray, James, 1832, 9. Murray, Philemon, 1816, 17, 18. Peabce, Jacob, 1846. Murray Philemon 1866, 7, 72. Peck, Benjamin, 1841, 3. Negus, Joseph, 1808. Newcome, Charles, 1873. Nicholson, Charles, 1854, 69. Niles, William, 1825. norris, josiah, 1853. Northrup, Joseph, 1796. Norton, Benjamin, 1863, 4. Norton, Philander, 1858, 9. Norton, William, 1866, 7, 8. Numan, Clark, 1803. Peck, Edmund, 1815. Peck, Peter, 1794, 6, 7, 8. Peck, Peter, 1863, 4, 5, 6, 9. Peck, Reuben, 1802, 16. Peck, Smith, 1838. Peirsons, Sylvester, 1847. Pettis, Peleg, 1799, 1800. Phelps, Alpheus, 1822, 53, 5, 6. Phelps, Andrew, 1869. Phelps, John, 1836, 59, 60, 2. Numan, Daniel, 1819, 50, 1, 2, 3, Phettiplace, John, 1827. 4, 5, 7. Numan, Israel, 1801. Numan, Lewis, 1832, 3, 4, 43. Numan, Orange, 1836, 7, 9, 40, 1, 2,3,51, 2, 61. Numan, Reuben, 1811, 14, 25. Oakland, Charles, 1852. Oakley, Charles, 1856, 60. O'Connor, Robert, 1873. Odell, Augustin M., 1823, 5. Phettiplace, John, 1859. Philo, Henry, 1854. Philo, Samuel, 1822, 32, 3, 4, 5, 6,7. Philo, Wilkie, 1860. Pike, George, 1864. Pike, Samuel, 1847. fPiTCHER, Alfred, 1802, 3, 6, 15, / 19, 22, 3, 5, 32, 4. Pitcher, Benjamin, 1797, 8. Odell, Benjamin, 1824, 33, 42, 6, Pitcher, Jonathan, 1786,9,93, 55, 6, 8,9, 60, 5, 6, 8, 72, 3. 1814. Odell, Jacob, 1802. Pitcher, Jonathan Jr., 1797. Odell, Nathaniel, 1797. -^Pitts, Levi, 1793, 5. Odell, Samuel, 1793, 1800, 13, Pixley, Lewis L., 1824. 15. Platt, Elmore, 1843, 7, 8, 55, 9, Ogden, David, 1816, 44. 65. Ogden, William G., 1820, 34. Platt, Harvey, 1870. Orr, Alexander, 1844, 50, 1, 2. Poor, Abel, 1837. Orr, Daniel, 1862, 5, 6. Poor, David, 1816, 17. Osgood, Jesse, 1850, 5, 6. Potter, Ezekiel, 1833. CIVIL LIST. 97 Potter, Jonathan W., 1862, 3,4, 70,3. Potter, Washington, 1848. Price, Orlin, 1861. Putnam, Benajah, 1766, 7. Putnam, Jefferson, 1839. Kamsay, George B., 1853. Ranger, Parsons, 1803, 16. Rauston, William, 1865. Ray, Harry, 1844. Reynolds, Benjamin, 1839. Reynolds, Olduck, 1849, 51, 2. Reynolds, Solomon, 1803, 5. Rheubottom, Samuel, 1870. Rice, L. N., 1869. Richards, Edmund B., 1842. Richardson, William, 1862, 5, 6, 7, 9, 70. Riley, John, 1864. Ring, Peter, 1845, 6, 7, 8, 9. Ripley, Asa Jr., 1813. Ripley, Doctor, 1818, 19, 20, 1. Ripley, James, 1814, 17, 25, 33, 45, 9, 52. Ripley, Reuben, 1858, 9, 70. RoBARDS, Ebenezer, 1800. Robards, William, 1787. Robards, William Jr., 1802, 4. Robinson, Hector, 1857. Robinson, Lyman, 1856, 60, 9, 70. Robinson, Lyman Jr., 1873. Robison, Alexander, 1851, 2, 3, 68. Rogers, Jacob M., 1826. Rogers, Jeremiah, 1806, 8, 9, 12, 17, 20, 2, 3. Russell, Esq., 1792. Sanford, Charles S., 1843. Sanford, David, 1798, 1806. Sanford, Frederic, 1851, 4, 5. Sanford, G-eorge, 1835. Sanford, Goold, 1825, 35, 40, 5, 8. Schermerhorn, William, 1851,2, 13 Scott, James, 1836, 8, 41, 3. Scott, William, 1847. Seelye, Benjamin, 1802, 14, 21. Seelye, David, 1835, 7, 41, 4, 7, 8, 52, 5, 6, 9, 61, 2. Seelye, George, 1860. Seelye, Justus, 1800, 3. Seelye, Lemuel C. P., 1844, 55. Seelye, Reuben, 1808. Seelye, Reuben, 1834, 5, 6, 40, 2, ■ 5, 7, 8. Seelye, Reuben, 1856, 8,60, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Seelye, William A., 1866, 9. Sellick, Jonas, 1857, 61, 5, 6. Sew all, John, 1846. Sewall, Jonathan, 1819. Shaver, Jacob, 1832, 7. Shaw, Daniel, 1848. Shaw, Nehemiah, 1838. Sheldon, Allen, 1836, 65, 6, 7. Sheldon, Nehemiah, 1835. Shelley, Ira, 1808. Sherman, Asa, 1834, 8, 43, 4, 8, 54, 5, 6, 8, 64, 5. Sherman, Burden, 1837. Sherman, Ebenezer, 1800, 1. Sherman, James, 1811. Sherman, Nathan, 1846, 7, 9, 50. Sherman, Stephen, 1820, 1, 33, 8, 9. Sherwood, Thomas A., 1811. Shippey, Charles, 1815. Shippey, Dewey, 1839, 40, 50. Shippey. Thomas, 1847, 8. Simpson, George, 1857. Simpson, Houston, 1853. Simpson, John, 1839, 42. Simpson, Peter, 1834, 5, 6. SissoN, Benjamin, 1827. SissoN, Daniel, 1866, 7, 70. SissoN, James, 1852. SissoN, Nathaniel, 1798. Smith, George, 1857, 9, 63, 4. 98 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Smith, Isaac, 1853. Smith, John H., 1872. Smith, Justin, 1800, 5. Smith, Major F., 1854, 8, 60. Smith, Mason F., 1843. Smith, Walter, 1842, 4, 6, 8, 9, 56. Spencer, Benjamin, 1821. Spencer, Henry, 1802,11, 12, 15, 18, 19, 21, 4, 32, 4. SpicER, Eben, 1839. Sprague, Beriah, 1811. Sprague, Warren, 1861. Staats, Jehoiachim, 1834. Staats, Peter, 1838, 9, 42. Staples, Abram, 1852. Staples, Anson R., 1856. Stedwell, Gilbert, 1815, 25. Stedwell, Roger, 1794. Stephenson, James, 1805, 6, 12. Stephenson, Marmadcke, 1806. Stephenson, Stephen, 1795, 6, 9. Stevens, Lucius B., 1856. Stevenson, Andrew, 1837, 40, 1, 2. Stewart, James B., 1863, 72. Stewart, Peter, 1864. Stewart, Robert, 1857, 8, 9, 60, 1,72. Stower, Asa, 1805. Stringham, Thomas, 1794 Sturdevant, Levi, 1854, 65. Swain, George, 1863. Sweet, Abraham, 1832. Sweet, Benoni, 1802, 3, 8, 9. Sweet, David, 1832. Sweet, Dodge, 1801, 35. Sweet, Elnathan, 1823, 5l Sweet, George, 1856, 8, 9, 64. Sweet, George W., l!^61. Sweet, Hermes, 1821. Sweet, Jacob, 1857. Sweet, Jeremiah, 1857. Sweet, Nelson, 1854, 9,62, 5 ,6, 7. Sweet, William, 1834, 40. Taylor, Gilbert, 1825, 44, 5, 50. Taylor, Thomas, 1858, 9, 70. Tearse, Peter B., 1795. Thayer, William, 1854, 5, 6. Thomas, Charles, 1836. Thomas, Henry, 1864. Thomas, Israel, 1793, 4. Thomas, Israel Jr., 1797, 8. Thomas, Paul, 1869, 72. Thomas, Seth, 1808, 18, 23. Thurston, Henry, 1825. Tibbits, Benjamin, 1795, 9. TiLLOTSON, David, 1832. Tillotson, John C, 1851, 2. TiNNEY, Asa, 1846, 56. Tinney, Asa F., 1862. Titus, Abram J. G., 1853, 66, 9, 70, 2, 3. Traphagan, John J. B., 1872. Traver, John, 1858, 9, 65, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70, 3. Tripp, James, 1794. Tripp, Jonathan, 1804. Tubes, George, 1839. TuBBs, Jeremiah, 1812, 16, 26, 33. TuBBS, Seneca, 1836, 7, 40, 1, 3, 5, 8, 50. Tucker, Abraham, 1787, 8, 9. Upton, Walter Jr., 1815. Vandusen, Abraham, 1814, 21, 34, 7, 43, 4, 8, 51, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7. Vanduzen, Charles, 1857, 8. Vanduzen, David, 1823. Vanduzen, Dewitt, 1859, 60. Vanduzen, Hartman, 1805, 12. Vanduzen, Harvey, 1850. Vanduzen, Harvey, 1850. Vanduzen, Henry, 1866. Vanduzen, Hiram, 1858,62,7, 8. Vanduzen, John, 1790, 2. Vanduzen, John Jr., 1804, 5, 11, 12, 17, 18, 22. i CIVIL LIST. 99 Vanduzen, John R., 1857, 73. Vanduzen, Myron, 1847, 8. Vanduzen, Orrin, 1845, 65, 7, 8. Vanduzen, Robert, 1839, 66. Vanduzen, William, 1835. Vanduzen, Zenas, 1841, 9, 56. Vanduzen, Zephaniah, 1865. VanHeusen, Gtarrett, 1872, 3. Vantassell, Hermon, 1826, 38, 9, 40, 1. Varney, Daniel, 1866. • Varney, David, 1869. Varney, Harvey, 1845, 9, 54, 5. Vaughn, David, 1837. Vaughn, George, 1865, 6, 8. Vaughn, James, 1826. Vaughn, Stephen, 1840, 5, 55, 8, 62. Vaughn, Wellington, 1857, 9, 62. Vaughn, William, 1836, 7. Vaughn, William M., 1863. Vernor, John, 1798. Viele, Asa, 1832. ViELE, Asaph, 1883, 5, 40, 2. Viele, Sidney, 1853, 4. voorce (q. voorhees ?), joseph, 1803. Walker, David, 1843, 9, 55, 60. Walkup, Charles, 1857. WaLKUP, GrEORGE, 1833, 56, 61. Walkup, George B., 1862. Washburn, Robert, 1853, 4, 63. Weaver, Abraham, 1834, 5. Weaver, Jesse, 1846, 7. Weaver, Joseph, 1822. Weaver, Solomon, 1840. Weeks, Joseph, 1804, 14, 15, 26. Weidaway, Anthony, 1857. Wells, Benjamin, 1818, 23, 36, 41* Wells, David, 1856. Wells, Henry, 1858, 65, 6, 7. Wells, Hiram, 1837, 42, 58, 9, 60, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7. Wells, J^vmes, 1792, 9. Wells, Joel, 1886, 7, 42, 50, 62. Wells, Peter, 1816. Wells, Sylvester, 1861, 3. West, Ebenezer, 1839, 40, 6, 9, 50,4, 5,; 61, 2, 6, 7. West, George P., 1818, 22. West, John P., 1834, 7, 40, 3. West, John V., 1825, 40. West, Thomas, 1817, 23, 4, 5, 6, 32. West, William Barber, 1795, 6, 7, 8, 1805, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 1. Weston, John, 1813. Wheeler, D., 1867. Wheeler, F., 1864, 5, 6. Whipple, Archibald P., 1863. Whipple, J., 1818. Whitney, Daniel, 1840. Whittemore, George, 1846. Wicks, Edmund B., 1848. Wilber, Gilbert, 1848. Wilcox, Brazilla, 1869. WiLKiE, David, 1833, 49. WiLKiE, Elisha D., 1872. WiLKiE, Jacob, 1837, 41, 4, 5, 6, 7,8,54,5,7,8. WiLKiE, James, 1858, 9, 61. WiLKiE, Martin, 1856. Williams, Barber, 1816, 21. Williams, Beriah, 1836. Williams, David, 1837, 40, 1, 2, 6, 9, 50, 3, 4. Williams, Edwin, 1858. Williams, Lewis, 1847, 53, 5, 60, 1,3. Williams, Warren, 1826, 35, 6. Wilson, J.ohn R., 1841. WiNCHip, Alvin, 1858, 9. WiNCHip, Ansel, 1824, 39, 42, 7, 8, 56, 64, 5, 6. WiNCHip, Joel, 1796, 7, 1801, 22. WiNCHip, Joel, 1840, 2, 55, 6. 100 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. WiNCHip, Joel Jr , 1814, 19, 32, 6. Winslow, John, 1799, 1801, 5, 6, WiNCHip, Joel P., 1860, 2. 8, 15. WiNCHip, John, 1812, 16, 20, 1, 4, Winslow, Thomas, 1814. 5, 33, 7. Witherell, Bethuel, 1853, 64, Winchip, Eansom J.. 1846, 7, 73. 9, 70. Wing, Abraham, 1772, 3, 6, 80, 7, Witherell, Nathaniel, 1836, 9, 8. 49, 50. Wing, Abraham Jr , 1788. Witherell, Seth, 1861, 3. Wing, Benjamin, 1768, 71, 5, 83, Wood, Amos, 1822. 4. Wood, John, 1838, 40, 54. Wing, Edward, 1796. Wood, Maynard, 1869. Wing, Jeremiah, 1811. Wood, Philip, 1837, 42. Wing, Joseph, 1801. Wood, Walter, 1825, 42, 7, 52. Wing, Nehemiah, 1809. Woodward, Joel, 1819. Wing, Nehemiah, 1855, 8, 61, 2, Wooley, William, 1872, 3. 6, 8, 70, 2, 3. Wright, Abraham, 1818. Wing, Richard, 1838, 9, 44, 61. Wright, Job, 1770. Wing, William, 1823. Yandle, George, 1838. CORPORATION OFFICERS, VILLAGE OF GLEN'S FALLS. PRESIDENTS OF BOARDS OF TRUSTEES. Benedict, Ezra, 1857. Conery, George, 1864. Briggs, William, 1845, 8. Cowles, Daniel H., 1859. Brown, Daniel V., 1861. Delong, Zopher I., 1863. Carpenter, Stevens, 1846. Ferguson, James, 1862, 6. Clark, James C, 1853. Ferriss, John A.,(a) 1839. (a) Sketch of the Life and Services op John Akin Ferriss. According to tlie statement of the late Mrs. Prouty, who was a grand-daugliter of the original proprietor of this name, as well as a cousin of the subject of this sketch, and who died last year at an advanced age, there were four brothers and two sisters of the name of Ferriss, who immigrated to this country from England, (another ac- count says from Wales), about the middle of the seventeenth century. A por- tion, if not all of them, settled at, or in the vicinity of the Oblong, in Dutchess county, who, in religious sympathy with nearly all the settlers of that region, were Quakers. The youngest of this large family of brothers and sisters, was Reed Ferriss, who died at Quaker Hill in Dutchess county, on one of the last days of March, 1804, aged seventy-four years, which would carry the date of his birth back to 1730.' He was an intimate friend of Abraham Wing, the founder of the first set- tlement and town of Queensbury, and early became interested, by purchase of a large tract, in the Queensbury patent. One of his lots laid upon the eastern borders of the town. The outlet of the big Cedar swamp (much larger then ' Among the Winfj; manuscripts is a racmorandum to the effect that Reed Ferriss and Benjamin Ferriss jr., were witnesses to a deed in 1764. CIVIL LIST. 101 FiCKETT, Henry E., 1858. Hawley, George G., 1849. Goodman, Stephen L., 1865. Higby, Richard W., 1850, 1, 2. than now) derived its name from liim and a large beaver meadow through which it ran, whence the early settlers in that neighborhood were wont to obtain their hay. This stream is specified in the early survey, and records, as Reed«'s meadow creek. He was also the purchaser or patentee of a township tract of land in Vermont, which in compliment to him was called Ferrisburg. He was also the proprietor of other lands at or in the neighborhood of Vergennes in Vermont. After the Revolutionary war he used to come up the river every season with great regularity to look after his interests in these several localities. The old Wing papers contain communications from him setting forth and showing the cordial relations and amity subsisting between him and the head of that family. had ten children, the eldest of whom, Edward, married for his first wife a Tabor, for his second Mary Akin, of whom the subject of this memoir was born, the seventeenth of October, 1772, at the Oblong, in Dutchess county. He learned the trade of a hatter, and removed to Glen's Falls, about the year 1794. At that time he had about five hundred dollars in hard cash, which, for those days was con- sidered a large sum ; and as many, probably most of the residents of the town were then what is significantly called '• land poor," he was offered, in ex- change for that sum, great lot number twenty-nine of the original survey, now embracing the most thickly settled and valuable portion of the village of Glen's Falls, and the offer was declined. Soon after his arrival at Glen's Falls he bought the lot next north of the Glen's Falls Insurance building, on the back part of which he erected a hat shop where he carried on business, for a number of years. Subsequently he erected two one and a half story framed buildings on the site of S. D. Hopkins and Z. I. DeLong & Son's stores, where the same business was carried on by him as late as 1838. He was a man of very considerable push and energy, and contributed largely toward giving an impetus to the early growth and development of the village. In 1798,' he erected as a tavern, the dwelling house now occupied by A. Newton Locke In 1802, he commenced the old Glen's Falls Hotel, occupying the present site of the Rockwell house. This inn after- wards became a great success and popular resort under the administration and management of the late Peter D. Threehouse. A year or two later he diverted the springs of water and the rivulet flowing therefrom, which then existed in the side hill now covered by the Glen's Falls Opera house, into a shallow reservoir, making a fish pond of the same on the flat in the rear of Albert Vermillia's market building. This for quite a period was one of the attractions and curiosi- ties of the village. Early in the century also he erected the long known structure, which occupied the ground where Mrs. Ferguson's variety store, and the row of groceries and saloons below it now stand. This was subsequently variously designated as Ferriss' row the Tontine, the long row, hemlock row, and Mc- Gregor's row. This, after various vicissitudes, mishaps and repairs, was burnt down in 1856, the fire being the work of an incendiary. He married first, about the year 1796, Parthenia, daughter of Doctor Seth Alden, a biographical sketch of whom may be seen elsewhere in this work. She died in 1 In this year there is an entrj; in the town records to the effect that John A. Ferriss was allowed eight dollars and a half for services done on the bridge at Glen's Falls. 102 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Johnson, Frederick A. Jr., 1870. McEachron, William, 1872. Keenan, John, (a) 1871. Mead, Joseph, 1869. Lapham, Jerome, 1867. Morgan, Alonzo W., 1854. the year 1800, aged twenty-three. For his second wife, he married her sister Hannah, as appears by the docket of the late Judge Roberts on the 21st of Sep- tember, 1803. Slie was born the 15th of May, 1779, and surviving her husband, died at an advanced age on the fifth of November, 1865, at the family home- stead in Glen's Falls. John A. Ferriss was a leading business man, an ardent and influential politi- cian, a man whose public spirit, foresight and sagacity placed at least a full generation in advance of the age in which he lived. As may be been by the official record, he was the first postmaster appointed at Glen's Falls. At that time he carried on business in the old corner store on the site now covered by Pearsall and Cooledge's clothing establishment, the post office occupying a small corner of the building. His second appointment was the result of a town meeting as appears by the following preamble and resolutions, which were entered on record in the town clerk's office, but some malicious and evil disposed person cut it out of the record book, together with many pages of the official records of town meetings, and other entries important to retain. The original document still remains on file. " Whereas a base and shameful attack has lately been made upon the character of his excellency DeWitt Clinton, governor of this state, by a series of publica- tions in a certain paper called the National Advocate, edited by M. M. Noah, and whereas, it appears conclusively that Adonijah Emons has been a principal actor in fabricating and furnishing for publication the scandalous falsehoods which have been resorted to, to support that attack, and whereas from the general character and conduct of the said Emons we believe him wholly destitute of in- tegrity, honor or moral worth, and unfit and unworthy to be trusted in any office. Mesolved, Therefore, by the people of -the town of Queensbury in town meeting assembled, that the said Adonijah Emons ought to be removed from the office of postmaster in said town, that the security of the public mail, and the honor and interest of the town will be promoted by such removal, and the reappointment of the former postmaster John A. Ferriss in whom we have full confidence. Mesolved, That the supervisor and town clerk cause a certified copy of this reso- lution to be forwarded to the post master general." Truly the asperities, and brutal antagonisms of modern politics, were quite equalled by the sliarp animosities of those early days ! Mr. Ferriss was a man of great liberality, contributing freely of his means and efforts to every worthy public enterprise. Exemplary in his private life, up- right and honorable in his business and social relations, he commanded the good will and respect of all who knew him. He died at Glen's Falls on the eighth of September, 1840, and was buried in the faniily enclosure, in the old burial ground at Moss street, in the town of Kingsbury, N. Y. (a) John Keenan, the son of Robert and Anne (Logan) Keenan, was born in the town of Leitrim near Castle Dawson, in the county Derry, Ireland, on the eleventh of November, 1809, being the, youngest of a family of nine children. He was brought u]i according to the faith of his forefathers in the strictest tenets of the Roman Catholic religion. With less inclination for study, than for the wild and CIVIL LIST. 103 Palmeter, James, 1840. Peck, Daniel, 1868. Roberts, Hiram, 1860. RosEKRANS, Enoch H., 1855. ScHENCK, James W., 1856. Sheldon, Melville A., 1873. Spencer, Henry, 1841, 2, 4. Tallmadge, Samuel S., 1843. Wing, Abraham, 1847. TRUSTEES. Benedict, Ezra, 1850, 1, 7. Briggs, William, 1845, 6, 8, 57. Bronson, Erastus, 1840, 1. Bronson, William C, 1843. Brown, Daniel V., 1850, 1, 2, 61. Brown, Daniel V., 1869. Burnham, Cyrus, 1844. Buswell, James, 1853. Cadwell, James E., 1857. Cameron, Charles R., 1866, 8. Carpenter, Stevens, 1846. Cheney, Albert N., 1846. Clark, James C, 1848, 53. Coffin, Thomas, 1845. CONERY, GrEORGE, 1861, 2, 4, 8. Cool, Joseph B., 1855. Cool, Keyes P., 1840. Cooledge, Thomas S., 1870. CosGROVE, William, 1868. CowLEs, Daniel H., 1853, 9. CrONKHITE, GrEORGE, 1839, 44. Cronkhite, William, 1858. Crosby, Enos C, 1847. Dean, David M., 1843, 8. exciting pastimes of youth, be can hardly be said to have availed himself of all the educational advantages within bis reach. Possessing a strong love of adven- ture, and an indomitable will, he bad but barely passed his majority, when he put in execution a long cherished desire to visit the new world, and having made his preparations therefor, sailed from Belfast, on the ninth of April, 1831. After a stormy passage of forty days, be landed in Quebec ; proceeding from there direct to Swanton Falls, Vt., at which place he remained about a year, removing the following spring to Kingsbury, N. Y., where he resided for several years. In 1838, he embarked in the manufacture of lime in company with Martin Ryan. At the end of three years this company was dissolved, and another formed, in which Harvey and Israel Smith were taken as partners, and a store of general merchandise added to the business. In 1843, this connection was dissolved, and Mr. Keenan continued the business alone. In 1847, he removed to Queensbury, still continuing his manufacture of lime at the kilns between Glen's Falls and Sandy Hill. For a short time, E. H. Rosekrans, and Eleazer S. Vaughn were in- terested as partners. In 1851 their connection with the concern terminated. The same year he entered into partnership with the late H. R. Wing, and founded the Jointa Lime Company, to which, after a successful existence of eight years, Mr. L. G. McDonald was added, and shortly afterward the extensive lime and trans- portation business of the Cool brothers was purchased. Of the latter interest, under the name of the Glen's Falls Transportation Company, Mr. Keenan was elected president, a position he held for a number of years. Something like ten years of great prosperity and success followed tbis combination, conferring wealth on all concerned. By reason of Mr. Wing's death, which occurred in 1870, the firm finally, after an attempt to carry out his wishes, in continuing the business the same 104 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Belong, Theodore S., 1869. Holman, Dewitt C, 1865. Delong, Zopher I., 1862, 3, 73. Holman, Ezekiel, 1846. Eastwood, Martin, 1850. Hoskins, William, 1864. Ellis, Enoch, 1842. Hotchkiss, Theodore, 1870. Ferguson, Henry, 1844, 50, 1, 2. Hubbard, Edwin, 1855. Ferguson, James, 1858, 61, 2, 6. Johnson, Frederick A. Jr., 1870. Ferriss, John A., 1839. Keeepe, Daniel F., 1869. Fickett, Henry E., 1858. Keenan, John, 1863, 6, 71, 2. Finch, James C, 1856. Kenworthy, John L., 1853. Goodman, Stephen L., 1865. Kipp, Ruliff, 1854, 70. Goodspeed, Stephen, 1842. Knapp, Isaac, 1849. Gray, Enoch, 1860. Krum, Hiram, 1863. Green, Joel B., 1868, 6. Lapham, Benjamin F., 1865. Harris, Hiram M., 1871, 2. Lapham, Henry G., 1873. Hawley, George G., 1849, 54. Lapham, Jerome, 1851, 7, 71, 2. HiGBY, John C, 1847. Leavins, Harmon R., 1869, 71, 2. HiGBY, Richard W., 1849, 50, 1, 2. Lewis, Gardiner T., 1863. Hitchcock, Alfred, 1858. Little, Meredith B., 1865, 73. Hitchcock, Dwight, (a) 1841, 2. Locke, Ira, 1855. as though lie were living, was broken up and Mr. McDonald, with others, bought out the establishment. Since this period Mr. Keenan has retired from the manufacturing business, but the wonderful energy and industry of the man still keeps him busily engaged in the activities of life. During all the years of his residence here, Mr. Keenan has conspicuously identified himself with all measures looking towards public improvement and reform. He was among the first to urge the great advantages which would accrue to our village from the construc- tion of a railroad here. After many political struggles, and the greatest of oppo- sition from some of the inhabitants of the village and town, he succeeded in fighting a bill through the legislature in its favor and secured the construction of the road. From its inception to its completion, he was one of the heaviest stock holders, and president of its board of directors. He also assisted largely in securing to the village its present admirable system of water works, obtaining with others the passage of an act of legislature authorizing their construction. It was during this period that he acted as president of the board of village trustees. In 1848, he married Miss Anne O'Connor, daughter of Patrick O'Connor of Kingsbury. Seven children, four girls and three boys, are the fruit of this union. Mr. Keenan is a positive man, of strong good sense, warm attachments, and marked antipathies ; resolute and thorough going in what he undt-rtakes ; and whose influence, both politically and socially, is widely felt. An ardent democrat, and avowed opponent of corruption, both his public career, and private life, have been consistent, exemplary and conservative of the general welfare. Having amassed a handsome fortune in the legitimate avenues of honest industry, it is to be hoped that he may be spared many years of a hale and vigorous old age, to enjoy the fruits of his early toil and labor. (a) Dwight, son of Dr. Jared Hitchcock, of whom a sketch is given elsewhere in this work, was born in Massachusetts, on the Uth of September, 1805, came with his lather to Glen's Falls in 1819; in 1833, in copartnership with J. Q. Spencer, bought out the stock of merchandise belonging to George G. Sickles, in Ensravins; Process. S4r, Broa,1w«y. ^. T, CIVIL LIST. 105 McDonald, Leonard G-., 1857. McDonald, Willtaji, 1843. McEachron, William, 1867, 71, 2. McNeil, Donald, 1847. Mead, Joseph, 1867, 9. Morgan, Alonzo W., 1841, 8, 54, 70. Mott, Isaac, 1859. Nesbitt, Henry, 1868. NORRISS, JosiAH, 1849. Norton, George, 1861, 2. NuMAN, Daniel, 1861. 2. Palmeter, James, 1840. Peck, Bethuel, 1843. Peck, Charles, 1848. Peck, Daniel, 1864, 7, 8. Peck, William, 1845, 9. Phelps, Walter Jr., 1858. Rich, Marquis C, 1859, 60. RoBBiNS, Calvin, 1839. Roberts, David, 1840, 1. Roberts, David Gt., 1845, 66. Roberts, Hiram, 1856, 60, 4. Robinson, Frederic W., 1854. Rosekrans Enoch H., 1855. Schenck, James W., 1852, 6. Shaw, Nathaniel, 1846. Shaw, Nehemiah, 1847. Sheldon, MelVille A., 1873. ShIPPEY, GrEORGE, 1856. Sisson, George W., 1865. SissoN, James, 1889, 44, 5, 52, 6. Somers, John, 1854. . Spencer, Henry, 1841, 2, 4. Starbuck, Benjamin C, 1855. Tallmadge, Samuel S., 1843. Tearse, Archibald C, 1857, 9, 60, 4, 7. Thompson, Berry, 1842. TiLLOTsoN, George J., 1853. Wait, William, 1873. Wells, James, 1840. Wilmarth, Martin L., 1859, 60. Wilson, John W., 1839. Wing, Abraham, 1847. the stone store under the hill ; and in the month of September followiog, the stock of goods in Thomas Cotton's store, consisting of dry goods, groceries, iron, steel and stoves. The two were immerged in one, in the old wooden building so often referred to, which stood on the south-east corner of Warren and Glen streets. Soon afterwards he bouglit out Spencer's interest and continued business alone in that locality imtil about the year 1840. Along about the year 1834, by the aid of means kindly and voluntarily furnished by the late Sidney Berry, he commenced operations in wood and lumber, which being successful were extended from time to time until the export of wood for the supply of the Hudson river steamboats finally stripped our pine plains of their verdant covering. In 1835 he had an in- terest in the first lot of logs driven down the Sacandaga river from the town of Edinburgh. In 1886-7 he owned a share in the first saw logs driven down the Schroon river from West Moriah to Glen's Falls. In 1846 he established a steam foundry on Warren street which continued in successful operation for several years. This was disposed of about the year 1853, to Stephen Goodspeed. Mr. Hitchcock's next enterprise was the purchase of a slate ledge in the vicinity of Castleton, Vt. In the development of this purchase he removed to Syracuse, N. Y. where he now resides, and where he embarked in the slate roofing business, a pursuit that he still follows. He married February 10th, 1836, Jane M., daughter of the late Dilwin Gardner, by whom he has had six children, four daughters and two sons, all living. The following year he erected the brick house occupying the site next west of the Methodist church, where that denomination contemplates erecting a parsonage. This buikUng was utterly destroyed, with nearly all its contents, in the great conflagration of 1864. 14 106 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. COEPORATION ASSESSORS. Arms, Lewis L., 1848. Bailey, Loudoun, 1852. Benedict, Daniel, 1859, 61. Benedict, Ezra, 1852. Briqgs, William, 1847, 51. BuLLARD, James P., 1857. Carpenter, Ira C, 1865. Carpenter, Stevens, 1867, 70. Cheesebrouqh, Henry E., 1866, 8, 9, 73. Cheney, George W., 1860. Coffin, Martin, 1856. CowLES, Daniel H., 1842, 53. Dean, David M., 1841, 2, 5, 6. Dix, Samuel B., 1863, 4. Eastwood, Martin, 1849, 55. Ellis, Enoch, 1859. Fairbanks, Jonathan W., 1845. Ferguson, Henry, 1839, 40, 3, 4, 60. Ferriss, Benjamin, 1854. Fisher, Alfred, 1841, 5. Fonda, William A., 1858. GrAYGER, WiLLIAM H., 1855. Harris, Albert T., 1854. Hawley, George G., 1859. Hiokson, Alfred, 1854. Hitchcock, Dwight, 1839, 40, 3. Holley, Hiram, 1867. Johnson, Frederic A., 1841. Ketchum, Daniel B., 1870, 1, 2. Kipp, RuLiPF, 1865, 7. Locke, Ira, 1849, 57, 8, 60, 1. Mead, Joseph, 1861, 2, 3, 4. Morgan, Alonzo W., 1844, 7, 8, 63. MoTT, Zebulon W., 1850. NoRRiss, Daniel G., 1853. Norton, George, 1855, 66, 8, 9, 70, 1, 2, 3. Palmeter, James, 1839. Parsons, Elnathan, 1857. Peck, Charles, 1856. Peck, William, 1850, 1,2. Potter, John E., 1873. Pratt, William, 1859, 64. Bobbins, Calvin, 1843. Roberts, David, 1846. Roberts, Hiram, 1862, 3. Robinson, William, 1850, 1. Rockwell, Charles, 1847. Sanford, George, 1840. Sands, George, 1862. Sprague, Merritt, 1856. Thompson, John S., 1866, 8. Tillqtson, George, 1865. Vantassel, Hermon, 1846. Wait, William, 1871, 2. Wilmarth, Martin L., 1869. Wing, Abraham, 1844. Wing, Henry, 1858. CORPORATION CLERKS. Armstrong, Adam Jr., 1868. Carpenter, Alvin R., 1869. Cheney, George W., 1865. Davis, Isaac J., (a) 1856, 9, 60. (a) Isaac Andkew Jackson Davis was born at Castleton, Vt., on the 5th of October, 1831. Hia parents, Isaac and Aurelia (Parsons) Davis, were at the time visitinor tlieir friends in the above named i)lace, being then residents of the town of Johnsburgh. They subsequently moved to Schroon and when the subject of this CIVIL LIST. 107 Fennel, A. Hackley, 1867. Peck, Charles, 1844, 5. Ferriss, Orange, (a), 1839, 40, 1, Ferine, Joseph S., 1855. 2. Perrin, Ira A., 1843. Harris, Emery D., 1861, 2, 3, 4, 6. Ranger, Frederic E., 1857. Hay, Henry C, 1858. Sheldon, John A., 1870, 1, 2, 3. MoTT, Isaac, 1849, 50, 1, 2, 3, 4. Wilson, Allen T., 1846, 7, 8. sketcla was about five years of age went back to Vermont. His early education was received in the very excellent common schools of that state, supplemented by three terms at tlie Troy Conference Academy in Poultney, Vt. After this he came to Glen's Falls, and in 1851 commenced reading law in the office of Levi Hooker Baldwin of this village. He taught a common school the winter following and in the spring renewed his legal studies with Henry B. Northup, Esq., of Sandy Hill, in whose office he remained a year. He then returned to Glen's Falls, and finished liis studies in Baldwin's office. He was admitted to the bar in 1853, and immediately opened an office in the old long row, where he remained until the destruction of that building by fire in 1856. From 1854 to '57 he held a law partnership with the late Halsey R. Wing, Esq., at the termination of which, the latter retired from practice altogether. He was the democratic candidate in 1859 for district attorney, and in 1863 for senator, was defeated, although running ahead of his ticket in both instances. As shown by the record he has served as corporation clerk, and was elected in 1871 as county judge by ninety-five majority, while the county properly had a republican majority of nearly a thousand. He married first, Philomelia Aylesworth Gray of Arlington, Vt., on the 8th of January, 1857. She died s. p. March 4th, 1860. He married his second wife, Catharine M. Williams, of Schuylerville, N. Y., on the 2d of January, 1865. Judge Davis possesses in remarkable degree the elements which go to make a successful lawyer. Possessing a wonderful memory, ready utterance, rare oratorical powers, affiible demeanor and obliging disposition, he has few equals and no superiors in his own vicinity either on the bench or rostrum or at the bar ; while his great erudition in his profession and the rich plentitude of his mental resources, render his advice valuable and his opinions greatly sought. Yet in the noontide glory of his splen- did intellect and munificent powers, the future is still open before him in a long and brilliant vista of triumphant success, and professional achievements. (a) Orange Ferriss, son of John A. and Hannah (Alden) Ferriss, was born at Glen's Falls on the 26th of November, 1814. His elementary education was obtained chiefiy at the old academy, which stood on the site of Mr. Jerome Lapham's newly built residence on Ridge street.' His collegiate course was pursued at the Uni- versity of Vermont, which institution conferred upon him the honorary degree of A.M., in 1868. He studied law in the office of the Hon. William Hay,' of this village, having ^This building has undergone many vicissitudes. It was built in 1814, bv John A. B'erriss for use as a public school, and was afterwards incorporated by special statute under the name of the Glen's Falls High School. Here Abraham Wilson, Harvey B. Dodge, Benjamin Ela, Solo- mon Goodrich, Hicks and ot ers have taught the young idea how to shoot. A private school was kept here as lately as 18:38, or 9, by Obadiah Alma who resided and taught, and finally was taken sick about the year 1840. and died in the building. After the erection of the Glen's Falls Academy in 1840, it was used as a dwelling for a number of years. Subsequent to the great fire in 1864, it was moved down to the centre of the village to the site now covered by Kennedy's shoe store, where Messrs. DeLong & S( n continued the hardware business until their new and spacious brick storr on Glen street was completed. It was then sold to Messrs. Joubert & White, and moved down to the corner of .lay and Warren streets, where it now stands, having been overhauled and converted to the purposes of a carriage shop. 108 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. VILLAGE TEEASURERS. Bassingee, George H., 1868, 9. Peck, Charles, 1846, 7, 8, 9, 50, Benedict, Ezra, 1861, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3. Brown, Daniel V., 1866, 7 Peck, Daniel, 1854, 5, 6. Ferguson, George, 1857, 8, 9,60. Peck, William, 1839, 40,1, 2,3,4. Greenslet, George B., 1870, 1, Roberts, Hiram, 1845. 2, 3. Wait, William A., 1865. for fellow students tlie late Alfred C. Farlin, Esq., Allen T. Willson, and tlie author of this work. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, and the following year w^s appointed surrogate of the county by Governor Seward, in which position he served for four years. In 1845, he was the standard bearer of the whig party, in the canvass for assemblyman, but was defeated, the county being largely demo- cratic. The late Winfield Scott Sherwood, was his sucessful competitor. In 1851, he was elected county judge and surrogate, by a majority of more than two hundred over his democratic opponent, while the remainder of the democratic ticket had five hundred majority. He was reelected judge and surrogate in 1855, and again in 1859, thus serving in that capacity for twelve consecutive years, a tolerably conclusive evidence that his services were satisfactory to his con- stituents. In February, 1865, he received the appointment of provost marshal for the 16th congressional district but declined to serve, and A. -J. Cheritree was appointed in his stead. In 1866, he was elected by a handsome majority to represent the game district in the fortieth congress, and was reelected the succeeding term. He served with great distinction in these two bodies, being appointed and acting on the commit- tees for the revision of laws, mines and mining, coinage, and weights and mea- sures. He opposed the purchase of Alaska, and made an able and exhaustive speech in the house against the acquisition of that territory. He favored the im- peachment of President Johnson, and delivered one of the most earnest and effec- tive speeches in support of this movement on the 2d of March, 1868. The closing paragraph of that memorable address, embodied in the following quotation, exhi- bits the earnestness and eloquence of his appeal, and his hearty sympathy with the radical Puritan stock from which he derives his descent.' " The contest in our country has been between republican ideas on one side and aristocracy on the other, the pilgrims and the cavaliers. Jamestown typifies the one, and the Plymouth rock the other. Weeds and thistles have overgrown the site of the first settlement on the banks of the James, but Plymouth rock remains ; and ages after the waves of the ocean shall have worn away the last vestige of that rock tlie free civilization and social ideas of New England will be doing their work of Christianizing the races, and inculcating a love for liberty which is as broad in its philanthropy as the universe, and knows no distinction of race or color."" On the 3d of March, 1871, just at the close of his congressional labors for the second term, an act was passed creating a board for ascertaining and determining the i > See biographical sketches of his father John Akin Ferriss, and his maternal grandfather Dr. Scth Aldon. ■■i This article is compiled in part from a work entitled The Farfieth Conr/ress. 5'G-EPeriiieKi"'^'''- C^'-m^'j^ :g-e ferriss, 5 FROM NETWTDRK- "OR BARNES' HIST CIVIL LIST. 109 VILLAGE AcKLEY, Thomas, 1863. Allen, Avery, 1869. Allen, King, 1850, 1. BiTLEY, Melville, 1860, Briggs, Jabez, 1865. Brown, Clark J., 1866. Brown, George, 1873. Coffin, Martin, 1840. Cronkhite, James L., 1864. .Crossett, William., 1845, 7. Darby, Joseph, 1857. Eastwood, Julius C, 1867. Ellis, Enoch, 1841. COLLECTORS. Ellis, Zabina, 1842, 6. Green, Ira, 1839. Hall, Hilman A., 1856. Kenworthy, John L. Jr., 1870. Knapp, Reuben W., 1852. Peirsons, Samuel B., 1858, 9, 61, 2. Pratt, B. P., 1844. Robinson, William, 1843. SCOFIELD, WiLLETT, 1848, 9. Smith, Walter Jr., 1853, 4, 5. TiLLOTSON, John C, 1868. , Whitney, StowellB., 1871, 2. VILLAGE CONSTABLES. AcKLEY, Thomas, 1863. 4. Allen, Avery, 1869, 70, 1, 2, 3. Allen, King, 1850, 1. Allen, Warren, 1873. Bitley, Melville, 1860. Briggs, Jabez, 1865, 7, 71, 2. Coffin, Martin, 1840. Crossett, William, 1845. Darby, Joseph, 1858. Ellis, Enoch, 1841. Ellis, Zabina, 1842, 6, 7. Green, Hazard, 1839. Harrigan, Dennis, 1871. Knapp, Reuben W., 1852. Peirsons, Samuel B.,1859, 61,2. Pratt, B. P., 1844. Pratt, William, 1857. Robinson, William, 1843. ScoFiELD, Willett, 1848, 9. Smith, Walter Jr., 1853, 4, 5, 6. TiLLOTSON, John C, 1868. Wright, John D., 1866, 9. claims of loyal southerners for losses suffered during the rebellion. The board was to consist of three members to be desipfnated as commissioners of claims. To this important and responsible position J udge Ferriss was nominated by the president, and appointed by and with the advice and consent of the senate. Its duties in- volve an amount of investigation and research requiring in eminent degree the patient application and laborious, faithful industry which Judge Ferris has brought to the work. He was reappointed March 10th, 1873, for four years, a gratifying and complimentary testimonial to his integrity and incorruptibility. During a long public life, and the fierce collisions of hot partisan strife, J iidge Fer- riss has retained an unwonted popularity, and the good will, respect and esteem of all parties and shades of political opinion. Like Ca?sar's wife he is above suspicion, and in a corrupt age, and surrounded by demoralizing partisan influences, he has escaped from the seething caldron of political contamination with clean hands and a pure heart. 110 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. POUND MASTERS. Bentlet, Layton, 1850. BiBBEY, Benjamin, 1853, 4. Carpenter, J. Sullivan, 1857. CoNERY, Solomon, 1844, 5. Corey, Chester, 1851. Corey, G-ardner M., 1843. Cox, Robert, 1866, 8, 9, 70, 1, 2, 3. Green, John, 1859, 60, 1. G-uyette, Moses, 1852. Harrison, Timothy S., 1846. JouBERT, Edward, 1863. Kelley, James F., 1856. Ogden, Zina, 1842. Potter, John E. 2d, 1867. Sanpord, David B., 1862. Sisson, James, 1841. Stevens, William, 1839. Stone, Vincent, 1847. Wright, John D., 1855, 8, 64, 5. FIRE WARDENS. Briggs, William, 1854, 5, 6. Brown, Daniel V., 1859. Burnham, Cyrus, 1849. Byrne, Frank, 1861, 2, 8, 9. Cheney, Albert N., 1857. Clark, James C, 1858, 65. CoLviN, Hiram K., 1863. Corbett, John, 1868, 9, 71, 2. Corliss, Charles, 1856. Cowles,WillardB., 1860. Gallup, Benjamin, 1864. Hamilton, Lewis C , 1854, 5, 7, 8, 60, 5, 70. Haverty, John, 1873. Hawley George G., 1842. Hawley, George K., 1871, 2. Higby, Richard W., 1854,5, 7. Hitchcock, Dwight, 1842. HosKiNS, William, 1863, Ketchum, Daniel B., 1870. Lapham, Benjamin F., 1859, 60, 7, 70. Leavins, Jeremy R., 1867. Mead, Joseph, 1866. Morgan, Alonzo W., 1842, 9, 58. NoRRis, JosiAH H., 1865. Pike, Aaron F., 1871, 2, 3. Putnam, Edward, 1867. Roberts, Hiram, 1859. Rosekrans, Enoch H., 1849. Sands, George, 1863. Sanford, David B., 1856, 61, 2,4. Spicer, Henry D., 1864, 8, 9, 73. Starbuck, Stephen, 1861, 2. Thompson, Berry, 1842. Wilmarth, Martin L., 1866. Wright, John D., 1866. STREET COMMISSIONERS. Allen, Avery, 1867, 70 Boyd, Rufus, 1860. Briggs, Jabez, 1856, 9. Brown, Richard T., 1863. Coleman, Gales, 1865. Daggett, Jacob, 1857. CIVIL LIST. Ill Darby, Joseph, 1861, 2. Johnson, Frederick A., 1854. Norton, George, 1864. O'CoNNER, Dennis, 1868. Philo, Henry, 1856. Thompson, John S., 1866. TiLLOTsoN, John C, 1869. Vanderheyden, George W., 1871, 2, 3. Wright, John D., 1858. DIRECTORS PUBLIC LIBRARY. Benedict, Ezra, 1854, 5, 6, 7. BoLLES, George F., 1864, 5, 6. Briggs, William, 1854, 5, 6. Bullard, David H., 1870, 1, 2,3. Butler, Benjamin C, 1851, 2, 8. Davis, Isaac J., 1862, 3, 4. Holden, Austin W., 1857, 8, 9, 60, 1, 2, 9, 70, 1, 2, 3. Jackman, Samuel p., 1859, 60, 1. Keenan, J. Robert, 1869. Little, Meredith B., 1858, 9, 60. Platt, Myron, 1855, 6, 7. Potter, Thomas, 1869, 70, 1, 2,3. Roberts, Hiram, 1861, 2, 3. Wait, William A., 1863, 4, 5. Walker, Jason F., 1851, 2, 3. Wing, Halsey R., 1851, 2, 3, 4. HEALTH OFFICERS. Chapin, F. L. R., 1869. Ferguson, James, 1863. Holden, Austin W., 1871, 2, 3. McNiel, Donald, 1849. Peck, Marvin R., 1861, 2, 5, 7. Sternberg, A. Irving, 1864, 6. Streeter, Buel G., 1870. BOARD OF HEx\LTH. Benedict, Ezra, 1861, 2. burnham, josiah, 1866. Cameron, Charles R., 1871, 2, 3. Chapin, F. L. R., 1868. Conery, George, 1863, 9. Crittendon, Horace S., 1869. Cronkhite, George, 1861. Cronkhite, William, 1867. Dean, David M., 1849. Delong, Zopher I., 1864, 6. FiCKETT, Henry E., 1861, 2. Finch, Jeremiah W., 1866. Harris, Hiram M., 1869. Hubbard, Edwin, 1863, 4. Johnson, Frederick A., 1871, 2, 3. Keenan. John, 1868. Knapp, Isaac J., 1849. Lasher, Rufus, 1873. Lapham, Benjamin F., 1871, 2, 3. Little, Meredith B., 1867, 71, 2. Millington, Stokes P., 1867. Pardo, George, 1869. Roberts, David G., 1861, 2, 8, 4, 8. Spencer, Henry, 1849. Weeks, Henry, 1866. Wilmarth, Martin L., 1861, 7. 112 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY SUPERINTENDENT OF CEMETERY. Barnes, Linus B., 1856, to '68. SEXTON OF CEMETERY. Doty, William, 1868, to 74, now Johnson, Patrick, 1855 to 61. acting. Orr, Alexander Jr., 1861, to 'i LIST OF PRACTICING ATTORNEYS. Abbott, A. B. Armstrong, Adam. Baldwin, Levi H. Baldwin, Seth C. Barton, Hiram. Beach, William A. Bentley, John A. Brown, Stephen. Brougham, R. T. Buell, Horatio. Butler, Benjamin C. Cheritree, Andrew J. Clark, Asahel. Clark, Orville. Cowan, Patrick. Cronkhite, Edgar. CuRTENius, Frederic C. CuRTENius, John L. Davis, Isaac J. Ellsworth, Judiah. Emmons, Adonijah. Farlin, Alfred C. Ferriss, Orange. Geer, Asahel C. Harris. Emery. Hay, Henry C. Hay, William. Henderson, James. Howard, Henry A. Keeppe, Daniel F. Martindale, Henry C. Mastin, James M. Metcalf, William. Mott, Charles M. Mott, Isaac. Mott, John 0. Paddock, Franklin A. Paddock, Ira A. Paris, Uriah Gt. Ferine, Joseph S. Ferine, Melancthon W. Perrin, Ira A. RiGGS, Edward. Rosekrans, Enoch H. Sheldon, Melville A. Thompson, Lemon. Vandenburgh, Abraham L., Van Kleeck, Lawrence I. Welch, Theodore. Wilkinson, Robert. WiLLSON, Allen T. Wing, Halsey R. CIVIL LIST. 113 LIST OF PRACTICINa PHYSICIANS. Alden, Seth. Amer, William. Amiden, a. 0. Baldwin, Israel P. BucKBEE, Israel I. Bullard, David H. Carpenter, Henry H. Chapin, F. L. R. Clark, Billy J. Cromwell, James. Cromwell, Philip. CusHiNG, Mark A. Davis, Asher A. Eddy, R. J. Edmonds, Danporth. Ferguson, James. Gazley, John. Hall. Hitchcock, Jared. (a) Hoffman, Hermon. HoLDEN, Austin W. Holley, S. F. Jenkins, Samuel. Kaynor, D. p. Leach. littlefield, marshal s. Little, George W. McAllister, Archibald. McAllister, J. McNeil, Donald B. MoTT, Walter S. North, Nathan. OSMAN, J. S. Paine, Lemuel C. Patterson, Frank. Patterson, James H. Peck, Bethuel. (6) Perrigo, John. (a) Jared Hitchcock, son of Elijah and Sarah Hitchcock, was born in the town of Palmer, Massachusetts, on the 11th of August, 1778. His elementary and profes- sional education were olrtaiued in that state, where, as the writer has been informed, he also received the degree of doctor of medicine,and practiced for a number of years. He removed to GHen's Falls in the mouth of November, 1819. The following year his wife was thrown from a wagon near the residence of Truman Hamlin in the town of Moreau, and killed. By her he had four children. He married for hia second wife Caroline Stickney who bore him six children. In 1821, he removed to Sandy Hill, N. Y., and from thence in 1828 to Galway, Saratoga county. He afterward went to West Troy, and thence in 1840 to Glen's Falls where he died March 26th, 184(5. Dr. Hitchcock was a man of considerable erudition and a good practitioner. He invented a remedy which attained considerable local repute and celebrity, under the name of Hitchcock's pills. He also left a medical treatise containing an exposition of his peculiar views as to theory and practice, but which never came to print. (a) Bethuel Peck, was born at Sand Lake, Rensselaer county N. Y., on the 16th of June, 1788. His father, Daniel Peck, who was originally from New Hampshire, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. His mother was Mehitabel Harvey of Marlborough, N. H. His grandfather, Ichabbd Peck of Cumberland, R. I., was a lieutenant colonel in the war of the Revolution. He was wounded in action, and died in consequence of his wounds. His wife was Lydia Walcott, of the same ]ilace. His father and grandfather both also bore the name of Ichabod. The latter was the son of Jathniel, the son of Joseph jr., who was born 15 114 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Peck, Marvin R. (a) Robbins, Charles. Ransom, Fletcher. Robinson. in England, and baptized there August 23d, 1633, came over to the new world with his father in the ship Diligent, of Ipswich, John Martin, master, and settled at Hingham, Mass., in 1638, from which plade they both removed about seven years later, to Seekonk, now Rehoboth, Mass. — Peck Oenealogy. It is not known with certainty what causes led the subject of this sketch to Glen's Falls, but it is believed that he was brought along by some of the return gangs of raftsmen who, in the early days of the settlement here, rafted their lumber to market down the Hudson river. He at first found employment as a stable boy at the old Glen's Falls Hotel. Subsequently he secured a position as an office-boy for Dr. Levi Rugg, with whom he commenced the study of medicine, paying his way with his own earnings from a practice which he rapidly picked up and afterwards retained. He subsequently atttended medical lectures at the Medi- cal College of Fairfield, N. Y., from which institution he at a later period, received his diploma. He married Jerusha Winston, by whom he had one cliild that died in infancy. She survived him a few years and died at Chicago, 111., whence her remains were removed and deposited by the side of her husband in the village cemetery. As will be seen by a reference to the civil list, he was elected for a term of four years to the state senate. He was a partner for a number of years with the late Billy J. Clark in a drug and medicine establishment on the site now covered by Vermillia's market. After his return from the senate he erected the brick building to which he gave the name of the Glen's Falls Druggist, and which stood on the site of the Central House, conducted by W. McDonald. Here, in conjunc- tion with Dr. M. R. Peck, he carried on the drug business for a number of years. As a medical man, Dr. Bethuel Peck was a dose observer, and good diagnostician, following in the broad beaten ])athway of the schools, he was a safe and successful practitioner. His air in the sick room was well calculated to inspire trust and confidence, for besides his genial and sympathetic manner, he always contrived to leave the impression that what he didn't know about the case, was hardly worth knowing. He acquired in the practice of his profession, and the judicious investment of his resources, what was considered in those days a handsome fortune. He was for many years a leading and influential politician of the place. He died on the 11th of July, 1863. (a) Makvin Russell Peck, son of Joel ' and Hannah (Baldwin) Peck, was born at Sand Lake (or rather that portion of it which has since been set oflT under the name of Poesteukill, in Rensselaer county, N. Y.), on the sixteenth of July, 1823. His early education was received at the common schools of the neijrhborhood where his father resided, working on his father's fann summers, and going to school, as opportunity offered, winters. As a somewhat characteristic incident, illustrating his tenacity of purpose, he followed a teacher (whose superior ac- quirements and ability rendered his instruction desirable) to Wynantskill, a dis- tance of six miles, and during a winter of considerable severity made his way on foot morning and night to and from the school whatever the weather, and what- ever the traveling, as long as the school continued. After this, he had the advan- tage of a select school one season. He came to Glen's Falls on the last day of the year 1843, literally to seek his fortune. That winter, and the summer following, he attended the Glen's Falls Academy. In the September succeeding, he was taken in as an office boy and clerk in the drug and medicine business, then but recently established by his uncle in the new brick structure erected that season ' A brother of the late Dr. Bethuel Peck, of whom a biographical sketch, including a brief family recoril, iB given above. CIVIL LIST. 115 KuGG, Levi. St. John, John. Regan, Thomas. Simmons, Duane B. (a) on the site of the old bakery. Here he acquired the repute of being one of the steadiest young men of the place. Two years later he was admitted as an equal partner iu the same business. At about the same period he commenced his medical studies, which were prosecuted under peculiar embarrassments and difficulties, at such scanty intervals as could be snatched from the cares and anxieties of busi- ness. He had in the interval of student life the advantage of a large practice. He entered the Albany Medical College in the winter of 184'!<-9 and graduated, after attending three courses of lectures, with oreat credit in the class of 1851. After this, he remained three or four years in partnership with his uncle, assisting him in his practice and then sold out to him. He was married on the 9th of Sep- tember, 1853, to Miss Marcia L., daughter of Thomas H. and Eliza (Miller) Bemia of New York city. He settled down to the practice of his profession, commanding a fair share of the public patronage and esteem. Two years later he bought out the old doctor, as his uncle was often called, and resumed the drug business in connection with his practice. Subsequently to the death of his uncle he bought of the executors the building used as his store and office. Was burned out in the great fire of 1864. Rebuilt the same year, materially enlarging the size of the building. He closed out the drug business in 1869 to Messrs. Pettit & Fennel, since which time he has devoted his attention exclusively to the practice of his profession. As may be seen by reference to the civil list, he was elected coroner in the fall of 73. Dr. Peck is a physician of more than ordinary acumen and discrimination ; as a surgeon he has few, if any, superiors outside of the cities. He has performed several capital and important operations, and a more than average amount of success has attested Lis judgment and skill. But little past the meridian of his years, a a long vista of usefulness opening through the teeming, busy future, still awaits his practised eye, and skillful hand. (a) Duane Buckbee, only son of Hiram and Julia Emeline (Buckbee) Simmons, was born in the town of Milan, Dutchess county, N. Y., on the 13th of August, 1833. An uneventful childhood furnishes no subject for record except the removal of his parents to the town of Kinsgbury, where he received the elements of a common scliool education at a district school about two miles from Sandy Hill, in the direction of Smith's Basin. His academic instruction was received at the Poultney, Vt., Seminary. Following upon this, and with a view of fitting himself for the pursuits of a civil engineer and surveyor, he attended the well known Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, where, being then nineteen years of age, he only lacked one term of graduating ; when his conversion at a revival in the Presbyterian church of Glen's Falls, which he then joined, suddenly changed his ambitions, desires and prospects, and had a controlling influence over his future career. How well grounded his apprehensions may have been, it is not my province to discuss, but it would seem that he entertained a doubt whether the surroundings and associations of an engineer, whose vocation is mostly followed on the frontiers of civilization, were of that kind best calculated to pro- mote growth and development in the Christian life. Lever has well remarked that the price a man puts on himself is the very high- est penny the world will ever bid for him ; he'll not always get t7iat, but ue'll never, no never get a farthing beyond it. It was doubtless with some such vague, unuttered feeling as this, that young Simmons at this time signified to his parents his desire of changing his professitm for that of medicine, not to become a common country doctor, as he in- 116 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. Seaman, Merinus. Sheldon, N. Edson. Senton. Spooner. timated, but as good as the country aflTorded. Receiving their assent, he com- menced the study of medicine in 1851, with Dr. Marshall Littlefield, of Glen's Falls, with whom he continued for one year. During this time his first course of lectures was attended at the Albany Medical College, where he made rajnd pro- gress in the attainment of the elements of medical science. He then placed him- self in the ofEce of his uncle, Dr. Israel I. Buckbee, another Glen's Falls boy of sterling merit, who had achieved success and eminence in his profession, at Fonda, Montgomery county, N. T. Here young Simmons renewed his studies with a more than common energy and assiduity, attending two full courses of lectures at the New York University of Medicine, during which he derived addi- tional advantages by becoming a special pupil of the eminent surgeon and pro- fessor, Willard Parker. In 1854 he received his diploma, and immediately entered upon duty as one of the assistant physicians of the King's county hospital, to which he had had the address and influence to secure the appointment. A student life of more than common exposure and temptation had nurtured up to bone, the gristle of his youthful resolutions, and he was now verging on man- hood, ardent and impulsive perhaps, but self reliant, and resolved to make the most and best of his opportunities to attain perfection in that profession whose portals opened out on his life career. He remained in hospital one year, and then embarked in a sailing vessel for Europe. The tedious dullness of the voyage was somewhat diminished by a zealous application to the acquirement of the French language, the little knowledge of which obtained in his school days was nearly obliterated from his memory. He landed at Liverpool, pushed on to London, and after a couple of weeks de- voted to sight seeing, among the most imposing of which was the reception and review of the British army, then fresh from, the fiercely contested battle fields of the Crimea, he crossed over to Paris and renewed his application to the French language. His success was so rapid that he was enabled to gain admission the same season to the medical department of the University of Paris and with it the coveted permission to walk the celebrated hospitals of that city. He continued here for two years and graduated ; and then for the first time availed himself of the opportunity presented to see something of the world about him. He made a flying tour through the south of France, cross- ing the Alps in the way, and visiting Turin, Florence, Milan, Genoa, Rome and Naples. Here he visited, and descended into the crater of Vesuvius a distance of one hundred and fifty feet or more. This was the year anterior to the great eruption, and the crater already began to exhibit indications of the terrible con- vulsions that were coming. After visiting Herculaneum and Pompeii, Pisa with its leaning tower, etc., he returned across the Mediterranean by steamer to Marseilles, and thence over the divide, and down the storied shores of the Rhine, throuo-h Germany and Holland, through many a scene of legend and of song. He visited England again and crossed over to Dublin, in whose celebrated hospital he ex- pected to find a first class position awaiting him. He had been so long on his excursion trip, however, that the place was filled, and he was assigned an inferior position, which was so little satisfactory, that after a month or two he tlirew up the appointment, and returned home after an absenceof something over two years. He immediately removed to the city of Williamsburgh, where he opened an office for the practice of medicine, and his efforts to secure a professional mainte- nance were rewarded with a flattering success. Soon after the promulgation of the treaty with Japan, which was effected by CIVIL LIST. 117 Sternberg, A. Irving. Stoddard, Joseph L. Stewart, W. C. B. Stower, Asa. Com. Perry, or ratlier, wliile that memorable expedition was in progress, the Dutch Reformed church, in anticipation of its success, organized a mission to this hitherto unoccupied portion of the heathen world. A physician was wanted to make the enterprise complete. The superior culture, the scholarly attainments, and the Christian character of young Simmons, who " had kept the whiteness of his soul," at once pointed him out as a fitting and most desirable person for the posi- tion if he were only married. This unforseen obstacle in the pathway of adven- ture, was removed by his being married on Thursday to Maria Antoinette Brower, a most estimable young lady with whom he had long been acquainted. On Friday he received the degrees of craft masonry ; and on Saturday embarked for the famed Cipango of Marco Polo and the early Portuguese navigators, on board the East India clipper ship Surprise, Capt. Randlet. By an arrangement with the board of missions, Simmons was to have his outfit and passage free, and six hundred dollars a year salary, for the first five years, he holding himself entirely at their service and subject to their orders. Through the influence of friends, he was also appointed bearer of despatches from the government to Mr. Harris (another War- ren county boy), the American minister, resident at Yokohama. Our space, or the scope of this article, will not admit of a full detail of all the incidents of interest and exciting adventures attending this protracted voyage. The vessel grounded in the China sea on the way out, and for eight days they lay in hourly fear of an attack from the treacherous Malays. Taking advantage of a spring tide the craft was finally warped off" without disaster, and proceeded to Hong Kong. From that point he made a flying visit to Canton. This was but a little after the terrible massacres and wholesale executions connected with the Chinese rebellion. From Hong Kong again the vessel proceeded to Shanghai, the terminus of her voyage. Here the principal portion of the party were left to become the guests of the American residents at that point, among whom Glen's Falls was then most hospitably represented by the Wells family. After a few days' tarry, Dr. Simmons with a single companion, a gentleman attached to the expedition, took passage in an English sailing vessel for Yokohama, where in due time he arrived, delivered his despatches and made arrangements for the re- mainder of his party, by whom he was joined in a few weeks. The doctor was assigned a temple, as a hospital and medical headquarters for •the mission, while another temple was devoted to its religious objects. For a time they were supposed to be in danger. A native guard was sot around the mission temple, for the ostensible purpose of protection, while the doctor's quarters were left wholly without any guard, and the doctor and his wife kept alternate watch for many a weary night, in apprehension of an attack. The movement was un- derstood finally to be a ruse on the part o'f the Japanese, to prevent their own people from becoming converts to a new religion. At no time did tliere seem to be any jealousy exhibited against the physician of the mission, and as soon as he had mastered their language sufficiently to be understood, he acquired the confi- dence and good will of many of the influential nativ(^s. The treaty already referred to had established Yokohama as the principal iiort through which com- merce and traffic was to be carried on with this wonderful people. A large population of foreigners of all nationalities was rapidly aggregated at that point, and in view of the necessities of such a floating population, the position of port physician was offered to Dr. Simmons. After consultation with the parties in control of the mission, it was decided to release him from his engagements, he refunding the cost of his outflt and voyage, and agreeing to serve the mission in 118 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Streeter, B. Gr. Tubes, H. J. Tallmadge, Henry 0. Ward, H. J. Tubes, Nathan. a medical capacity as his original contract called for. The exchange was greatly advantageous to him, and in no way prejudicial to the mission. Indeed his oppor- tunities for doing good seemed to be enlarged and improved by the exchange. After a residence of three years, troubles and disturbances arose, by which all foreigners were compelled to leave the country. Dr. Simmons, together with the members of the mission, repaired to Shanghai, where he resumed his practice, and for a period of three or four months achieved a remarkable success. At this time his wife returned to America for a visit of eight months duration. With the reopening of the port of Yokahama, he returned and resumed his position, and remained until the five years for which he had originally engaged, had more than elapsed. He returned home once more, by the way of San Francisco and the' isthmus of Tehuantepec. The summer following was passed with his parents, at Perry, Wyoming county, N. Y. The following spring, he with his wife and son (an only child then of three summers) proceeded to Europe, going first to London, thence to Freibiirg, in Germany, a town of some importance lying in the vicinity of the celebrated Black Forest. Here he and his wife and child passed the summer in quiet and letire- ment, devoting their leisure to the acquirement of the German language. The ensuing autumn he repaired to Berlin, and entered its celebrated medical school, and at the same time obtained the freedom of its various hospitals, where he ap- plied himself assiduously to the acquirement of all the more recent discoveries in medical sciences. After a residence of about eight months, he took his degree, and proceeded to London, in whose hospitals, being in constant intercourse with their learned savans and distinguished specialists, he passed another six months- Devoting several weeks to travel through Continental Europe, he concluded his trip, by a prolonged visit to Paris during the palmiest days of the great exposition commonly known as the world's fair. Now finding himself quite satiated with the excitements of travel, he returned to his native land, and opened an office in the city of New York. His reputation for ripe scholarship soon brought to him a large and remunerative practice, in which he remained somt^thing like a year, when he was visited by Dr. Hepburn, with whom he had formed an intimacy at Yokohama, by whom he was informed that measures were in progress for building up a medical college in the city of Jeddo, in Japan, and offered liim one of its principal professorships, at a large salary. (Tlie treaty stipulations which had originally been restricted to a few ports, were now extended over the entire island). By these representations he was induced to break up his establishment in New York and embark once more for the far off Orient, taking the overland route to San Francisco, and thence by steamsliip America. On his arrival at Yokohama, his former friends and acquaintances were so desirous he should remain with them that they offered to build him a medical college and hospital at that point, which should be placed entirely at his disposal and control, and at the last advices, he had received an increased offer from the people at Jeddo, the question as yet being undetermined which of the two places should be the favored recipient of his valuable services. Dr. Simmons is yet in the early prime of an active and vigorous manhood, with a career of unbounded usefulness, and brilliant promise of wealth and distinction opened up before him. MILITARY ROSTERS. Military Appointments beginning June 23, 1786. FIELD AND STAFF. 1 Adiel Sherwood, Lt. Colonel Commander, (a) 2 Peter B. Tearse, 1 Major. 3 Isaac Hitchcock, 2 Major. 4 Gilbert Caswell, Adjutant. 5 John Hunsdon, Quarter Master. 6 William Dinwiddie, Pay Master. 7 ZiNA Hitchcock, Surgeon. 8 Ebenezer Hitchcock, Surgeon's Mate, . 28tli September. 1786 9 Charles Robinson, Q. Master, mice 5, . 26th February, 1789 10 Alexander, Baldwin jun., Adjutant, vice 4. 11 Hugh Peebles, Pay Master, vice 6. Unconnected company formed 17th March, 1788, Medad Harvey, captain; Joseph Harrison, lieutenant; Thomas Bennett, ensign. 28th Sept., 1789, Capt. Buck's company divided into two and a new company formed out of it. (rt) In the absence of all aid iu the way of genealogical records but little informa- tion can be here given in regard to the family of Col. Sherwood. He is conjectured to have been the son of Seth Sherwood, of Fort Edward, who in April, 1771, presented a petition to Lord Duumore, the governor of New York, complaining of the inhuman and illegal proceedings of Henry Cuyler, Patrick Smith, Joseph Gil- lett, Hugh Munroe and others. Had already complained in April 1770, without obtaining redress. He formerly lived in the town of Stratford, Conn., and pur- chased land under the claim of John Henry Lydius. The land being claimed by others he sought to extinguish their title by purchase but without success. Is threatened with a law suit (probably an ejectment suit), and at the time of writing, Av;is a prisoner in the jail at Albany, where he was committed on a judgment obtained by default, in the month of October previously, for £36, at the suit of John Finney, for the purchase of lands from the latter under the Lydius title, and afterwards taken from him by Neil Shaw. This information is derived from the petition to the governor. Next in order, follows a complaint, dated in jail January, 1771, to the Grand Jury of the Court of Common Pleas in Albany, setting forth that about the last of August, 1768, Patrick Smith, did by a precept of forty pounds cause the arrest of said Seth Sherwood. The Bailiif, Jonas Beemus, after he had got eight or nine miles from Sherwood's residence, tied him with a rope and led him to the City Hall, Albany, his arms still tied. All bail was refused. He remained in 120 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OV QUEENSBURY. 12 Joseph Adams, Adjutant, vice 10, 13 John Perrigo, Surgeon's Mate, vice 8, 14 Peter B. Tearse, Major, .... 15 Mathias Ogden, Pay Master, vice 11, 16 Thomas Bradshaw, 2d Major, vice 3, 17 Seth Sherwood, 2d Major, vice 16,. 18 Charles Kane, Lt. Col. Com'd'g, vice 1, 19 Warren Ferris, 1st Major, vice 2, 20 MiCAJAH Pettit, 2d Major, vice 17, . 21 John Perrigo, Surgeon, vice 7, 22 John White Jr., Quarter Master, vice 9, 23 Leonard Gibes, Surgeon's Mate, vice 13, 24 EoswELL Weston, Quarter Master, vice 22, 25 Warren Ferris, Lt. Col. Com'd'g., vice 18, 26 MiCAJAH Pettit, 1 Major, vice 19, . 27 John Mills, 2d Major vice 20, . 18th April, 1800, the two companies of infantry commanded by Capts. Doty and Morrison dissolved and commissions of the ofl&cers revoked. 6th April, 1792 6th April, 1792 7th March, 1793 7th March, 1793 12th June, 1793 2d December, 1795 5th April, 1796 5th April, 1796 5th April, 1796 7th April, 1798 27th August, 1798 27th August, 1798 10th April, 1800 3d February, 1802 3d February, 1802 3d February, 1802 prison near five months. Refers for character to Edward Jessup, Capt. James Bradshaw, Justice Ashmun, John Andrews, Samuel Dunham, Daniel Dunham, Daniel Jones, Archibald McNeil, .Capt. John Ogden, William More, Jotham Beemus, Noah Payn. He next states, that about the last of March, 1770, Joseph Gillet forcibly en- tered his premises, and with about twenty men laid up a fence across the middle of said Sherwood's land which he had occupied five or six years, with several dwelling houses in the same, and took possession of some fourteen acres of his land, and burnt up half of said Sherwood's property, warning him and his sons against putting up the fences he had pulled down. This was done by the order of Henry Cuyler who also claimed the land. He further says that he had with the aid of his son in the summer of 1769, cleared four acres, removed four hun- dred and sixty-eight logs to the water side, where he rafted them, and though Cuyler had consented that he should do so, yet through his agent, Justice Patrick Smyth, had them seized and sold to Gillett, without allowing Sherwood anything either for logs or labor in clearing the land. Among the legislative papers in the Secretary of State's office there is a volume of old legislative papers containing a petition from the same Seth Sherwood of Fort Edward, presented to the legislature 23d of A])ril, 1785, wherein he states, that moved by his love for America, and the principles of the Revolution he resolved to venture his life and fortune in vindication of his country's cause. His loses in 1777, were appraised at upwards of £370 for which he never received a penny. All he had was burnt and plundered in 1780. The burning part was appraised at £964. lO.^. what was plundered nearly as much more. During the three years that Col. Warner's regiment lay at Fort Edward, and Lake George, he lent the public upwards of nine thousand weight of beef, besides flour, corn and hay, and he produced certificates from Lt. Col. Samuel Safford, and Captains John Chipman and David Bates that he, Captain Seth Sherwood, whilst Warner's regiment was at the above posts for more than three years, was always ready to MILITARY ROSTERS. 121 CAPTAINS. 1 Nehemiah Seelye, 23d June, 1786 2 Thomas Bradshaw, ...."" " 3 Seth Sherwood, « « a 4 Duncan Shaw, u u 5 Caleb Noble, " " 6 Levi Crocker, .,..."" '* 7 Phineas Babcock, u u u 8 John Buck, u a u 9 Cornelius Baldwin (Lieut. Infantry), . " " " 10 John Cools, a u u 11 Thomas Scribner, vice 7, . . . 28th September, 1786 12 William Roberts, vice 1, . . . " " " 13 John Hunsdon, mce 10 (Lieut. Infantry), . " " " assist with his team when called on, and had furnished the garrison with provi- sions and hay when they could not be procured elsewhere. For (he says) at this time the tories, in order to depress the country and help the British, desisted from raising crops, or stock, whilst they almost starved themselves, " and did then, and still do owe me a revenge because I acted against them in that respect." Capt. Seth Sherwood petitioned the legislature in April, 1783, for payment for the provisions he had furnished, but though a favorable report was made on his claim, there was no money, to satisfy it. He next applied to the commissioners of sequestration for some vacant land, the owner of which had gone over to the enemy, which land he had already hired, and was in possession of, and expecting that the above certificates would avail in payment, he bought the land of the commissioners, and gave his notes for such payment. Afterwards, on the report of some of his tory enemies, the commissioners sued on the notes before they fell due, which so alarmed Sherwood's creditors that they all fell upon him. He had purchased other certificates which he placed in a knave's hands, to bid for confis- cated lands, who sold the certificates, amounting to nearly one thousand dollars, and then threw himself into jail. He complains sadly of the ill return he has received for his exertions, expenditures and sufferings, and prays redress.' The surrender of Fort Ann by Capt., afterwards Lieut. Col. Adiel Sherwood in 1780 was then, and has been in even later years the subject of much animadver- sion. He was appointed to the command of that post on the 18th of July, 1780. The following is a copy of his letter of vindication in regard to the aflfair." Captain Sherwood to Col. Livingston. " On board the Carlton, 17 Oct., 1780. " Dear Sir. " It is with regret that I write from this place, but my situation will admit of no other. I have not had the least reason to complain since a prisoner, but have been used with the greatest politeness. You have doubtless heard the particulars of my giving up the garrison at Fort Ann to Major Carleton, who was at the head ' For nearly all the matter contained in this sketch lam indebted to Dr. E. B. O'Callaghari. ' From the ]Sl(yfthern Invasion, by Dr. F. B. Hough, being No. 6, of the New York Bradford Club publications. 16 122 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. 14 Thaddeus Dewey, vice 10, . 15 Thomas McGee, Lieut. Infantry, vice 13 16 Isaac B. Paine, vice 6, 17 Hugh McAuley, vice 7, . 18 Warren Ferris, vice 11, 19 Benjamin Stewart, 20 Benjamin Stewart (not qualified), 21 Alexander McDouqall, vice 4, 22 Warren Ferris, 23 Joseph Hepburn, vice 14, 24 Joseph Herrigan, 25 Jeremiah Russell, 26 John Mills, vice 16, . 27 Isaiah Mead, vice 2, . . . 28 John Doty, Lt. Infantry, vice 9, ^_^„.-29 Nathaniel Pitcher, vice 3, 30 John S. Eaglestone, vice 21, 31 John Stewart, vice 27, . 32 David Welsh, vice 24, 33 John Simmons, .... 5tli May, a a 29th September, (( (( eth April, 27th September, 8th March, 6th April, 7th March, 12th June, 27th September, 2d December, 1789 1789 a 1790 1790 1791 1792 1793 1793 1793 1795 of seven hundred and seventy-eight men, chiefly British. I have with me seventy- five men, officers included, which was the whole of my garrison, and not to ex- ceed ten pounds of ammunition prman, my communications cut off, and without the least hope of relief for some time. It is not only chagrining but heart-break- mp: boon to relate the doleful tail. " However, after consultino; my officers and some of my most sensible men [I] agreed to capitulate, and gave up the garrison, and consider myself and men as prisoners of war, could have made some resistance as long as my powder and ball lasted, but when that was exhausted, what men that should then [have] survived would have been massacred by the savages. This being my situation, hard as it was, I agreed to sign the articles, having liberty to send the women and children to their respective homes. " My men are divided, so that I am not able to write an exact account of the number of my men and the militia apart. " Major Chipman is also a prisoner here, with about forty men from Fort George. Have sent pr bearer a few lines to Mrs. Sherwood, you will do me a particular favor to send it to her by the first safe hand. " I am in a poor situation to continue in this cold climate this winter, having no clothes with me but what I brought on my back, and destitute of any money. Must consequently suffer greatly if no way is devised by our legislative body for the relief of the state prisoners. My men are very bad clad, and most of them without shoes. " You will please let Mr. Gillet know that my accounts of issuings for this month is destroyed, but the number of men are about the same as last month. " I am sir with esteem your very humble servant. " ADIEL SHERWOOD." Adiel Sherwood's name appears as first lieutenant on the muster roll of the first New York Continentals (Van Schaack's) from 1776, to the 16th May, 1780, MILITARY ROSTERS. 123 34 John Morrison, Lt. Infantry, vice 15, . 23d March, 1797 35 John Wood (appointed by mistake), vice 20, " " " 36 Benjamin Cutler, vice 32, . . . " " " 37 Justice Smith, vice 12, ... . " " " 38 Henry Killmore, vice 30, . . . " " " 39 Samuel C. Platt, vice 29, . . . 7th April, 1798 40 Samuel Wineqar, vice 33 (moved), . . " " " 41 James Sloane, vice 36 (moved), . . u u n 42 Jonathan Wood, vice 35, . . . . " " '* 43 Eliphalet Eaglestone, vice 38 . . 10th April, 1800 44 Nathan Durkee, vice 26, . . • 3d February, 1802 45 Israel Ward, vice 41, ... . " " " 46 John Thomas, vice 39^. . . . " "■ " 47 John Van Wormer, vice 40, . . " " " when he resigned. July 1, 1780, is appointed justice of the peace of Charlotte county. It is presumed that he was appointed a captain in Colonel Williams' Charlotte county regiment, soon after his resignation. From papers in the Secre- tary of State's office at Albany the following changes appear in the regimental organization of the district. 1780, March 4. Alexander Webster appointed Colonel vice Williams removed. " July 1. Brinton Paine appointed Lieutenant vice Webster promoted. 1781, March 29. Col. Webster resigns his commission. 1782, July 24. Joseph McCracken appointed Lieutenant Colonel of Charlotte county militia. 1786, June 23. Appointed lieutenant colonel commandant of a regiment in Wash- ington county. 1789, May 5. The two Washington county regiments divided into three. The second under Lt. Col. Sherwood, to consist of Bangs- bury, Queensbury, and the three westernmost beats of Argyle and the southernmost part of Westfield. 1789, Sept. 29. That part west of the Hemlocks attached to Sherwood. " Sept. 30. John Williams appointed brigadier general of Washington county brigade. 1796, April 5. Sherwood resigns his office as lieutenant colonel. The following inscription is taken from a headstone erected at the grave of Col. Sherwood and wife in the old burial ground near the Baker place in the village of Sandy Hill. In Memory of Col. Adiel and Sarah Sherwood. He was born De'c, 1749, in Washington, Conn., a Capt. In the Revolutionary War, Taken prisoner at Ft. Ann, Oct. 10, 1780, died Dec. 1824, She was born June 1755, died March, 1827. 124 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. LIST OF LIEUTENANTS. 1 William Roberts, .... 2 Thomas McGee, 3 Albert Baker Jr., .... 4 Alexander McDougall Jr., 5 Elijah Bill, 6 Thomas Durkee, 7 Thomas Scribner, .... 8 Hugh Morrison, 9 Moses Pennel, Lt. Infantry, . 10 Jonathan Hilton, .... 11 William McAuley, .... 12 Jonathan Pitcher, .... 13 Isaiah Mead, vice 3, . . . 14 Howard, vice 12, . 15 Albert Baker Jr., Lt. Infantry, vice 9, 16 Joseph Herriqan, .... 17 Isaiah Mead, vice 2, . . . 18 Nathaniel Pitcher, vice 17, 19 Daniel Tefft, 20 Warren Ferris, 21 Albert Baker Jr., Lieut. Infantry, . 22 Noah Paine, Lieut. Infantry, vice 10, . 23 Edward Denham, vice 6, . 24 Jerry Russell, vice 11, 25 Joseph Hepbourne, vice 20, 26 Robert Patterson, 27 John Eaglestone, vice 14, 28 Oliver Bissell, . 29 David Harvey, 30 John Mills, vice 23, 31 Nathaniel Gage, Lieut. Infantry, vice 22, 32 Asa Dunham, 33 Asa Wray, vice 30, . 34 David Eddy, vice 25, . 35 David Welch, vice 29, 36 John Smith, .... 37 John Harris, vice 13, 38 William Cowan, Lieut. Infantry, 39 Asa Catlin, vice 18, 40 Justus Smith, 23d June, 1786 28th September, 1786 (( (( a (( (( (( 17th March, 1788 5th May, 1789 29th September, 1789 6th April, 27th September, 6th April, 1790 1790 1792 7th March, 1793 12th June, 27th September, 2d December, 1793 1793 1795 MILITARY ROSTERS. 125 41 Nathan Durkee, 42 Henry Killmore, vice 27, 43 Collins Hitchcock, 44 Benjamin Cutler, vice 35, 45 John Morrison, Lt. Infantry 46 John Stockham, . 47 John Croslet, Lt. Infantry, 48 Roger Halliday, vice 36, 49. James Sloan, vice 44, 50 Benjamin Pitcher, vice 40, 51 Eliphalet Eaglestone, vice 52 Samuel Platt, vice 39, 53 John Thomas, vice 52, 54 John Van Wormer, 55 Samuel Terbush, vice 49, 56 John Shaw, vice 51, 57 Levi Pitts, vice 50, . 58 LiDius Durkee, vice 42, 59 Alfred Pitcher, vice 57, . 60 Stephen Porter, vice 55, 61 John Durand, vice 53, 62 Benjamin Babcock, vice 54, 2d December, 1795 vice 45 41, 23d March, 1797 U CI (( 7th April, 1798 a u (( U (( C( 10th April, 1800 tk (C u 3d February, 1802 LIST OF ENSIGNS. 1 James Higson, 2 John Harris, _3 Nathaniel Pitcher, 4 Archibald Gillis, 5 Samuel Chapman, . 6 Bunnell Payne, . 7 William Mc Auley, - 8 Benjamin Stewart, 9 David Buck, Lt. Infantry, 10 Elijah Dunham, . 11 John Clark, vice 7, . 12 Ebenezer Buck, vice 1, 13 Perine Jr., vice 10, . 14 John Watson, ! 15 Oliver Bissell, 16 John Eddy, vice 12, 17 Elijah Russell, 18 John Wray, . 23d June, 1786 28th September, 1786 '( il C( (( 1( u 5th May 1789 126 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. 19 Nathaniel Gage, . 20 David Buck, 21 John Mills, .... 22 Samuel Fairchild, vice 17, . 23 David Ling, vice 16, 24 Peter Talman, Lt. Infantry, 25 Samuel Wood, .... 26 R. Savage, .... 27 George Jackway, . 28 Asa Wrat, vice 21, 29 Elijah Dunham, vice 19, . 30 Asa Catlin, Lt. Infantry, vice 24, 31 Peter Fairchild, . 32 Nathan Durgee, vice 28, 33 Amos Baldwin, 34 Benjamin Cutler, 35 Asa Hodges (not qualified), 36 Asa Catlin, vice 14, 37 John Doty, Lt. Infantry, vice 16, 38 John Morrison, . 39 John Stewart, vice 2, 40 William High Jr., Lt. Infantry, 41 Samuel Platt, vice 36, 42 John Miner, 43 Eliphalet Eaglestone, vice 26, 44 Medad Bostwick, 45 LiDius Durkee, vice 32, . 46 Isaac Williams, vice 39, 47 James Alden, vice 34, 48 John Crosby, Lt. Infantry, 49 JuDAH Thompson, . 50 John Swain, Lt. Infantry, 51 William Alcot, vice 85, . 52 Lemuel Terboss, vice 47, 53 Levi Pitts. 54 John Shaw, vice 43, 55 John Thomas, vice 41, 56 John Durand, vice 55, . 57 Benjamin Babcock, 58 Ephraim Cowan, vice 52, 59 Lyman Littlefield, vice 46, . 60 Randall McDougall, vice 45, 61 Alfred Pitcher, vice 53, . 62 Saunders Littlefield, vice 59, 5tli May, 29th September, 6tli April, 27tli September, 6tli April, 1789 (( 1789 u 1790 a 1790 1792 7tb March, 1793 U (( 27th September, 1793 a u u 2d December, 1795 23d March, 1797 7th April, 1798 10th April, 1800 MILITARY ROSTERS. 63 Lyman Baker, 64 William Carpenter, . 65 Samuel Love, . 66 William B. West, 67 Lemuel Hastings, vice 58, 68 Nathaniel Pitcher Jr., 69 Beni Copeland, 3d February, 127 1802 IT. Beginning the ZOth of September, 1789. FIELD AND STAFF. 6th April 1790 1 John Williams, Brigadier General, 2 Nathan Morgan, Inspector, ... « u « 3 Stephen Clapp Jr., Inspector, vice2, . 8th March, 1791 4 Anthony I. Blanchard, Inspector, vice 3, 27th September, 1793 LIST OF CAPTAINS. 1 Anthony I. Blanchard, 2 Charles Kane, . 3 John Hitchcock, 4 Micajah Pettit, . 5 G-ARRETT Peebles, . 6 Benjamin Colvin, 7 Stephen Thorne, . 8 John Hitchcock, 9 Solomon Smith, 10 Philip Smith, 11 Stephen Thorne, 12 Sylvester Rowley, vice 11, 13 James Harvey, 14 Micajah Pettit, 15 JoNA Harris, . 16 Daniel Mason, vice 12, 30th September, 1789 6th April, 1792 2(i December, 1795 5th April, 1796 10th April, 1800 LIST OF LIEUTENANTS. 1 Micajah Pettit, 2 JoNA Harris, 3 Adonijah Skinner, 30th September, 1789 128 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. 4 Christopher Allen, . 5 Edward Patten, 6 Samuel Cook, 7 Walsinqham Collins, . 8 Samuel Frisby, , 9 Sylvester Rowley, 10 Samuel Payne, . 11 Daniel Mason, vice 9, 12 Daniel Roberts, vice 11, 13 G-ERRiTT J. Van Schaick vice 7, 14 Silas Conkey, . . . 15 William Hamilton, 16 Jona Harris, vice 1, 17 Barzillai D. Hitchcock, mce 10 18 Solomon Day, vice 2, 19 Samuel Caldwell, vice 16, 20 James McFarland, vice 15, 21 Ezra Dyre, .... 22 Elias Dayton, vice 11, 23 Thomas Worden, vice 2,1^ 30th September, 1789 LIST OF CORNETS Adonijah Skinner, Gerritt I. Van Schaick, Daniel Mason, Benjamin Smith, . Barzillai D. Hitchcock, Francis Maynard, Ezra Dyre, 8 John Russell, 9 John Vernor Jr., . 10 Andrew Freeman, vice 8, 11 Amos Curtis, vice 6, 12 Robert Myrick, . 13 Benjamin Smith, . 24th March, 30th November, 1794 1795 5th April, 23d March, 10th April, 1796 1797 1800 6th April, 1792 27th September, 1793 (( i< a 24th March, 1794 30th November, 1795 u u a (< u (( 5th April, 1796 23d March, 1797 (I U (( 10th April, 1800 m. 27th Sept., 1793. Battalion formed in Totten and Crossfield's purchase. 1 Richardson Thurman, Major Commandant. 2 Charles McLaren, Adjutant, ... 2d December, 1795 3 John McLaren Jr., Surgeon, . . " " " MILITARY ROPTERS. 129 4 Moses Leonard, Quarter Master, 5 KiTCHEL Bishop, Adjutant, . 6 Leavitt Fox, Quarter Master, . 2d December, 10th April, 1795 1800 LIST OF CAPTAINS. 1 Hugh McAuley. 2 Enos Mead. 3 John Murray. 4 Timothy Stowe, Lt. Infantry, . . . 23d March, 1797 5 WiLLiAi^i Johnson, .... " " u 6 Benjamin Potter, 2l8t January, 1802 7 James Tuttle, « « u 8 Daniel Beswick, ....-" " (( 9 Asa Dunham u n a 10 James Purlser, 13th March, a LIST OF LIEUTENANTS. 1 Daniel Beswick. 2 Benjamin Potter. 3 William Johnson. 4 Joseph Bogkes, Lt. Infantry, 5 James Parker, 6 Amos Rich, 7 Hezekiah Baldwin, . . . 8 Frederic Miller, , 9 Justus Bennett, . 10 Gershom Darling, . 11 John McMillan, vice 5, 23d March, 1797 (( (( u 21st January, 1802 U (( 13th March, 1802 LIST OF CORNETS. 1 Israel Thomas. 2 Daniel Barker. 3 Joseph Bockes. 4 Simon Chesley, 5 Justus Bennett, vice 1, 6 Hezekiah Baldwin, vice 2, 7 John McMillan, vice 3, 8 ZiBA Hareden, 9 Benjamin Knapp, 17 23d March, 10th April, 1797 1800 21st January, 1802 130 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. 10 Eleazer Goodman, 11 Nathaniel Smith, 12 Edward Cornell, 13 Caleb Cook, . 21st January, 1802 13th March, 1802 To the foregoing may properly be appended the following extract from the Clinton manuscripts on file in the State Library. " A return of the militia of the state of New York under the command of his Excellency Geo. Clinton, Esq., commander-in-chief, December 1st, 1788, Washington county, James Gordon, of Albany, Brigadier, Adiel Sherwood, Lieut. Col. commanding, Adam Martin, Lieut. Col. commanding. Sherwood's Regt. July 28 total rank and file 854, Martin's " " 31 " " " " 1,138." [Prom the Wing Papers.] MILITARY WARRANT. " Queensbury, June, ye 25, 1787. Agreeable to regimental orders you hereby Required to tak the within list and worn each person named therein to apeare at Hosey Howards (on the Ridge) Compleatly aquiptas the Law Dereacts to the Regimental parade on Wensday the 9 day of July at nine o'clock in the morning there to ymbody to March to the Regimental parade. WILLIAM ROBARDS Capt». Hosey Howard, Eli Hopkins, Isaac Bates, Edward Flanigan, Abraham Wing junr., Andrew Lewis, James Tarn, Henry Martin, James Griffin, John Eday, James Higson, Phinehas Babcock, Miles Worshburn jr., Elisha Wing, Justis Sealy, James Stevenson, Walter Brigs, Jabish Brigs, Jacob Buoice, David Ogden, David Bennett junr., David Shaw, Jacob Odle, Samuel Odle, Bennay Akens, Elijah Barto, Jonathan Tripp, James Tripp, Jesse Denny, George Denny, Isaack Wilcocks, Epraim Woodard, James Bennett, Nathaniel Fuller, Ebenezer Fuller Jr., Benjamin Fuller, Edward Fuller, Matthew Fuller, Stephen Howard, Jeremiah Briggs, Justus Brown, Houghgil Brown, John Fennel, Ezekiel Sweet, Nicholas Barker, Samuel Barker, James Butler junr., Nathan Clark, Nathaniel Comins, Wolcatt Blakely, Wanton Morey, John Holeden, - Peter Peck, Nathaniel Odle, Sarg't. Nathaniel Babcock, Sarg't. QUEENSBURY IN THE WAR OF THE UNION. Some Account of the War Committee op Queensbury in the War OP the Great Kebellion — Its Action and Representation therein — The several Quotas op the Town — Bounties — Erection op the Soldiers' Monument with some Account op THE SAME. ^ITH the tidings of the fall of Fort Sumter, a call was made, numerously signed by citizens of the village, irrespective of party, for a public meeting at Numan's Hall, a building which stood on what is now mostly a vacant space, between Cosgrove Music Hall, and the Glen's Falls Opera House. A large and enthusiastic meeting, presided over by the Hon. Keyes P. Cool, resolved that this community should do its share and be fully represented in the coming strug- gle. Two persons, namely, the writer of this book and Mr. George Clendon received authorizations from the adjutant general of the state to raise companies in response to the first call of the president for volunteers. The ranks were speedily filled and the companies mustered for service by Col. H. K. Colvin of the 31st New York Militia. They were joined by ano- ther company (I), of stalwart men from the north part of War- ren and Essex counties. These three companies received the honors of an ovation given them by the citizens of the village, a purse was made up and given to each company and they were escorted to Fort Edward by the fire department of the place. The same day they reached the military rendezvous at Troy, where in due time they were consolidated as companies E and F, with other companies from the neighborhood and formed the 22d Regt. IST. Y. Vols, under the command of Col. Walter Phelps jr., of Glen's Falls. It subsequenty formed a part of the famous iron brigade of the first division, and first army corps.^ ' With the first enlistment of two years' volunteers, as there was no bounty, either local, state or general, offered, recruits were backward in offering their services, until guaranties were given that in case of their death or disability 132 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. From that time forward, scattering recruits from old Queens- bury were continually pouring to the front, filling the ranks of the regular army, supplying deficient quotas from other sections of the state and country at large. With the progress of the war,^ and its prospective continu- ance, new calls were made, new levies demanded. The question was no longer one ofpatriotism, the claim was obligatory, its effect compulsory, month by month new regiments were raised, and new companies furnished. JS'early an entire company of Glen's Falls boys was recruited for a District of Columbia regiment. The 91st, 93d, 96th, 115th, 118th, 125th, 126th, 153d, 156th, 169th and 192d regiments were represented by companies or detatchments of Glen's Falls volunteers, while scattering repre- sentatives might have been found in half the regiments of the state, and every branch of the service. After the boys in blue began to return home from expired enlistments, many of them reentered the army, resolved to see the thing through. In this way what was known as the veteran regiments were speedily filled out and returned to do good service in the war. In this way the Second New York Veteran Cavalry, and Sixteenth New York Heavy Artillery received large accessions from this vicinity. The volunteer system of 1861, was found on brief trial, to be entirely inadequate to the exigencies of the war. It took, however, a long time, before all the machinery incidental to a new and hitherto untried system, to work itself into thorough and harmonious operation. No quotas were assigned, and no their families should be provided for. This assurance was met by two subscrip- tion papers amounting to about ten thousand dollars each. Of this sum nearly one-half was collected and disbursed ; the bounty system then coming in, dis- pensed with the need of any further assessments or collections. ' One of the early effects of the war, was the issues of vast volumes of paper cur- rency which speedily became known as greenbacks. A counter result was the almost immediate withdrawal from circulation of the specie of the country even to the copper aifd nickel issue. The consei]uonce was, a great temporary distress for the want of small change. The country was flooded in a few weeks, with a bogus brass currency, composed of tradsmens' cards. Postage stamps for large and small amounts were temporarily used, and one enterprising manufacturer of nostrums went so far as to enclose them in metallic cases, bearing the stamped names of the remedies. In this emergency, the corporate authorities of Glen's Falls issued in the fall of 1862, what were known as corporation shiuplasters to the amount of foOOO, in denominations of fifty, twenty-five, ten and five cents. With the issue of the jiostal currency by the general government, came a general law, forbidding corporations or individuals from circulating such money, so it was called in and cancelled the following year. THE WAR OF THE UNION. 133 records, comiog within the scope of this article, were kept either by the state, or general government in that, or the fol- lowing years. It was not until March, 1863, that the general government made an enrollment, and through its provost mar- shals in each congressional district began its assignment of quotas. The following statistics appear on the files of the adju- tant general's department at Albany for the year 1862. Population of the town of Queensbury, 7,146 Number enrolled liable to military duty, 1,107 Number of exempts embraced in above return, 86 Number liable to draft, 1,021 Quota of Queensbury under the calls of July and August, 1862.1 221 Number furnished to fill quota as above, 208 Deficit carried forward, 13 During that dark period of the rebellion, which preceded the emancipation proclamation, Governor Morgan appointed in each senatorial district, a committee of three gentlemen, who, in conjunction with sub-committees designated by them in each county, were known as the war committee, whose business seems to have been, without any specifically defined duties, to assist in making up the complement of troops required of each locality. The late Halsey R.- Wing, was the member who represented Queensbury on that committee, and very efficiently and patri- otically did he discharge that duty, for, besides his time, his labor and his money, he gave his two sons Edgar Murray and George Henry, as an oiFering upon the altar of his country. If there was any other member of that senatorial war com- mittee from Queensbury, I have not been advised of the fact. There at length came a time in our history when money had to be raised to»pay bounties, in order to save the trou- ble and reproach of a draft. A special town meeting for this purpose was called on the 25th of July, 1864 (less than three months after the great fire which had burned out the 'The call in July, was for three hundred thousand three years' men. The call in August was for three hundred thousand nine months' men. These two amounts were consolidated in one assignment, and equalized, so that an enlistment for three years represented and was equivalent to four enlistments at nine months. There were but very few nine months' troops mustered from this state. The large pro- portion were three years' men. 134 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. heart of our village, and destroyed upwards of one million dol- lars worth of property) ; at which one hundred thousand dollars were voted to pay the volunteers.^ Bonds were issued repre- senting this sum, and twice to its credit be it said, that these securities were all quickly taken at home, and have long since been paid up and cancelled. At the town meeting referred to, the following gentlemen were chosen as a permanent war com- mittee of the town, whose services, onerous, arduous and re- sponsible, were continued to the end of the war, viz : Jerome Lapham, I. J. Davis, F. A. Johnson jr., Halsey R. Wing, George Conery, Stephen Brown, William A. Wait, Lifelet Harris, R. M. Little. Most of these gentlemen gave a large per centage of their time to this undertaking. They offered bounties, and expended money to pay volunteers, sent agents both north and south to procure substitutes and fill the quotas required by the draft ; 1 Of tliis amount the Glen's Falls Bank took shares amounting to $13,225, the Commercial Bank $16,400. The balance was taken by private parties the Hon. Jerome Lapham alone bearing upwards of ten thousand dollars of the amount. The bonds were so apportioned that an equal proportion matured each year until they were all cancelled. Besides the amount already specified other sums were appropriated during the same year as appears by the following resolutions passed at the annual town meeting. " Resolved, That there be raised $109.60 for to pay expenses in recruiting Capt. Fassett's company. Resolved, That there be raised $108.87 to pay expenses in recruiting Capt. Arlin's company. Resolved, That there be raised $106.43 to pay expenses in recruiting Capt. D. Cameron's company. Resolved, That there be raised $109.80 to pay George Conery and William Cos- grove for taking up a note drawn by M. W. Coville for recruiting purposes. Resolved, That there be raised $1,;554.73 to pay a note dated Dec. 20, 1862. Resolved, That there be raised $7,015 to pay a note drawn for bounty money. Resolved, That there be raised $1,890.12 to pay a note lield by Jerome Lapham. Resolved, That there be levied and raised $4,845 to pay note in the Commercial Bank drawn by citizens for bounty of $300 each. Resolved, That there be raised $612.32 to pay note given to pay expenses of reception of 22d regiment. At a special town meeting held December 19th, 1864, the following resolutions were passed. Resolved, That the sum of $30,000 be raised by the town for the purpose of paying bounties into the military and naval service of the United States. Resolved, Tliat this money be collected in five equal installments of $6,000 each with the amount of interest unpaid thereon. Resolved, That $2,467.76 be raised for the purpose of paying bounties." THE WAK OF THE UNION. 135 looked after the soldiers' families at home, and superintended the investment and liquidation of the town bonds. Statement of the quotas assigned to Queensbury, Warren Co., 16th district of New York, and the credits applied thereon, under calls for troops. Credits. QuotaB. Quota under call of February 1, 1864, 149 " " " March 14, 1864, 62 211 Credits by newrecruits, 179 " " veteran volunteers, 13 « " draft of 1863, 46 238 " " surplus June 30, 1864, 27 Quota under call of July 18, 1864, 128 Credits f>j new recruits, 167 " " veteran volunteer, 1 168 " " surplus on call of July 18, 1864, 30 Quota under call of December 19, 1864, 46 Credits by new recruits, 36 " " " regular army, 3 " " draft, 4 43 Deficiency on call Dec. 19, 1864, 3 War Dept., Adjt. General's office, Washington, D. C, February 9, 1874. (Official,) THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assist. Adjutant General. Adj. Gen.'s office, Albany Feb. 12, 1874, Official copy, J. B. Stonehouse,^ Asst. Adj. Gen. At the termination of the war, there remained a considerable balance in the treasury, and chiefly through the active agency ^ To the gentlemen whose names are hereto appended, the author begs to make his grateful acknowledgments. 136 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. of the late Halsey R. Wing, it was decided after due deliberation to appropriate it to the erection of a soldiers' monument. The subject was submitted to the action of the annual town meeting held 6th March, 1866, when the following resolutions were sub- mitted to the people and adopted. Resolved., That to commemmorate the services and sacrifices of the soldiers of Queensbury, who during the war of 1861-'65 fell in battle or died from wounds received or disease contracted in defense of the Union ; and in memory of our late fellow citizens Daniel V. Brown and Edward Riggs, who, while going to South Carolina as agents of the town under the directions of the town war committee, were lost at sea on the eighth day of January, 1865, the sum of eight thousand dollars be, and the same hereby is appropriated by this town meeting, towards de- fraying the expense of erecting a suitable monument, or ceno- taph in such appropriate place as can be procured in or near the village of Glen's Falls. Resolved, That the sum of five thousand two hundred and sixty-four dollars and thirty-nine cents, military funds, in the hands of the supervisor, be appropriated toward the monument. Resolved, That Jerome Lapham, R. M. Little, Wm. A. Wait, Lifelet Harris, Stephen Brown, I. J. Davis, George Conery, H. R. Wing, the members of the town war committee now re- siding in town, and M. B. Little in place of F. A. Johnson jr., no longer a resident here, be and they are hereby appointed a committee to receive the said funds and according to their dis- cretion disburse the same for the purpose of this appropriation. Resolved, That the legislature be and hereby are requested to legalize by law the appropriation made by the foregoing resolu- tions and that a copy of them be transmitted by the town clerk to our member of assembly, the Hon. David Aldrich, fpr pre- sentation to the legislature. Resolved, That there be raised two hundred and sixty dollars and seventy-eight cents to indemnify the loss of Edward Riggs to be paid to his sister Ellen Riggs. Resolved, That there be raised three hundred and twenty-nine dollars and five cents to indemnity Daniel V. Brown, for the loss of his private property, the same to be paid to Mrs. D. V. Brown. Resolved, That there be raised one hundred and twenty-five dollars to indemnity William Cosgrove for a gold watch, lost with D. V. Brown at the time of his death. THE WAR OF THE UNION. 137 The committee above named, after examining several designs, and exerting careful and mature deliberation in the premises, adopted a plan (with some alterations) which was submitted by R. T. Baxter, at that time a resident of the village, a dealer in and manufacturer of marble, and monumental work and entirely familiar with the busineSs in all its details, and having made his specification and propositions he was at length commissioned to erect the monument. He at once embarked in the enterprise con amore, traveled far and wide to secure durable and suitable stone for the work, and employed special first class workmen, part of whom were hired from the cities at great expense, to execute its finer details. The work was commenced in the spring of 1867. The foundation or substructure is fourteen feet square, and eight feet deep, built of massive blocks of marble from our own quarries embedded in cement and whose interstices are filled with grout and cement. Upon this is laid a base of Spruce- head granite from Maine. This is ten feet square, cornered, and eighteen inches thick. Upon this rests a plinth sixteen inches in thickness, eight feet square and cornered. This in turn supports a moulded plinth whose height is eighteen inches and whose diameter each way is six feet and six inches, and also cornered, as is the entire shaft in all its pieces and additions to the capstone. The second plinth is surmounted by a die five feet and six inches square, with four raised tablets, one upon each face. Upon three of these are inscribed the roll of the honored dead, whose names are given herewith. The remaining face, together with a raised wreath of oak and laurel on the die above, contains the dedicatory in- scription. On the corners of the lower die are wrought out in relief four cannon. The material of the entire monument, above the granite base, is Dorchester freestone, fine in grain, dark brown in color, obtained at great cost from New Brunsv>dck. Upon • the lower die rests a moulded cap eighteen inches in thickness, and six feet six inches square, which supports the upper die or shaft proper, one of whose faces has already been described. In niches on the north and south aspects of this die are niches, containing statues life size, cut from the same material that com- poses the monument, representing the one an officer, the other a soldier in the attitude of reversed arms. Next follows four 18 THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. r.. , f n,„n«ion in the rear of the monument is the residence of Mr. Henry Crandell ^'^ '^^Twhose liL'am; roth" he author and reader are indebted for this cut. THE WAR OF THE UNION. 139 sections of the shaft, all gradually tapering toward the top which is twenty-two inches in diameter. The three lower of these con- tain raised bands with the names of battle fields as given here- with, chiseled in relief. On the corners of each section also appears a star cut in relief. The whole is surmounted by a capstone, cut from a block five feet square and three feet thick, representing the American flag drooping in graceful folds, upon which rests an eagle, in the act of springing into flight. The spread of the eagle's wings is about five feet. The entire monument is estimated to weigh about one hun- dred tons. It was completed at a cost of about twelve thousand dollars, of which amount, its unfortunate, though public spirited architect, was left to meet and make up an unprovided deficit of four thousand dollars. LEGENDS AND INSCRIPTIONS. First Side facing West street. BULL RUN. ANTIETAM. GETTTSBURGH. UR EEROIG DEAD, Who fell in the War. For tlie Union, 1861 1865. ©rectcb to tl)eir iHcmorg BY THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. 140 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. Second Side facing River bridge, * HANOVER. * * WILDERNESS. * * SO. MOUNTAIN. * (Statue of Officer). OFFICERS. Lieut. William T. Norris, Co. E, 23d Regt. N. Y. V. KUled at the battle of Bull Run, Va., Aug. 30th, 1862, M. 39 years, Lieut. Charles Cushing, Co. E, 23d Regt. N. Y. V. Killed at the battle of Antietam, Sept. ITth, 1862, M. 23 years. Lieut. Edgar M. Wing, Co. E, 118th Regt. N. Y. V, Mortally wounded at the battle of Drewry's Bluff. Died a prisoner of war at Richmond, Va., May 18th, 1864, M. 23 years. Lieut. Stephen D. Little, Co. B, 96th Regt. N. Y. V. Killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, Va., June 1st, 1864, M. 22 years. Lieut. Michael Reynolds, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, Va., June let, 1864, M 21 years. Lieut. Harrison P. Kingsley, Co. A, 3d Regt. Veteran Cavalry. Died from disease contracted while a prisoner of war, Nov. 23d, 1865, M. 28 years. Lieut. Michael McGeough, Co. H, Ist Regt. Sharp Shooters. Killed at the battle of the Wilderness, May 22d, 1864, M. 28 years. Alexander J. Kenney, Lieut. Col. 8th Regt. Indiana Vols. Died from wounds received at the battle of Cedar Creek, Va., Nov. 28th, 1864, M. 31 years. » Third Side facing Bay road. YORKTOWN. ¥t * cold harbor. * * drewry's bluff. * This tablet is inscribed as a public expression of regard for the memory of Daniel V. Brown, and Capt. Edward Riggs, who perished at sea, off the coast of Virginia, January 8th, 1865, while in the performance of their duties as military agents of the town of Queenshjiry. SOLDIERS WHO DIED FROM DISEASE . Pere Januaricus Surprenant, Co. A,118thRegt., N. Y. V. George Westcott, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Henry S. Hall, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Abraham White, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Abner B Crannell, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Allen D. Hubbell, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Alpheus Capron Jr., Co. A, nsth Regt. N. Y. V. Samuel B. Pease, Co. B, 175th Regt. N. Y. V. Richard M. Rice, Co. D, 175th Regt. N. Y. V. Marvin P. Crannell, Co. D, 175th Regt. N. Y. V. Truman Allen, Co. B, 175th Regt. N. Y. V. Amos Baker, Co. K, 156th Regt. N. Y. V. John M. Crossett, Co. K, 1.58th Regt. N. Y. V. William IlilliB, Co. K, 1.5.3d Regt. N. Y. V. Philander Hurd, Co. K, 1.5;5d Regt. N. Y. V. John Blackburn, Co. I, Qlst Regt. N. Y. V. Reuben Sherman, Co. F, 115th Regt. N. Y. V. Ralph S. Williams, Co. F, 115th Regt. N. Y. Y. David Johnson, Co. K, 125th Regt. N. Y. V. John McAlley, Co. E, 22d Regt. N. Y. V. Alexander Threehonse,Co. H, 29d Regt.N.Y.V. Edward Blanchard, Co. H, 22d Regt. N. Y. Y. George Brumagym, Co. F, 7Cth Regt. N.Y.V. Ambrose Spencer, Co. D, 9.3d Regt. N.Y.V. Henry Brumagym, Co. H, 93d Regt. N. Y. V. Cyrenus Williams, Co. L, 2d Veteran Cavalry. Medard Hebert, Co. F, 2d Veteran Cavalry. Henry Salter, Co. E. 2d Veteran Cavalry. Euacbe Joubert, Co. L, 2d Veteran Cavalry. William Crossett, Co. E, Harris Light Cavalry. George R. Smith, Co. M, Ist Regt. Md. Cavalry. Arthur O'Leary, 1st Regt. Louisiana Vols. Lemuel C. Horton, 192dRegt. N. Y. V. Charles F. Roselle, Co. E, 13th Regt. N. Y.V. Lewis Vandeusen, Co. K, 83d Regt. N. Y. V. James L. Perry, Co. L, 2d Veteran Cavalry. Alexander Bennett, Co. B, 123d Regt. N. Y. V. George Harris. — — — — Michael McGeough Jr., U. S. Marine Service. THE WAK OF THE UNION 141 Fourth Side facing the Episcopal Church. * FAIR OAKS. * « FORT FISHER. * * BERMUDA h'd. * (Statue of Soldier.) SOLDIERS WHO WERE KILLED OR DIED FROM WOUNDS. Martin Sherman, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Hanover Jonction, Va., July, 1863. Henry M. Mills, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Hanover Junction, July, 1863. Joseph Granger, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Drewry's Bluff, Va., May, 1864. John H. Hall, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Drewry's Bluff, Va., May, 1864. Adelbert Andrews, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Drewry's Bluff, Va., May, 1864. Charles F. Copeland, Co. A, 118th Regt. N.Y.V. Drewry's Bluff, Va., May, 1864. Destang Johnson, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Drewry's Bluff, Va., May, 1864. William B. Hall, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Fair Oaka, Va.. Oct., 1864. Sergeant Fred. K. F. French, Co. D, 169th Regt. N. Y. V. Bermuda Hundred, Va., May, 1864. Joseph Hillis, Co. D, 169th Regt. N. Y. V. Bermuda Hundred, Va., May, 1864. Richard Kearney, Co. D, 169th Regt. N. Y. V. Bermuda Hundred, Va., May, 1864. Sylvester Madden, Co. D, 169th Regt. N. Y. V. Fort Fisher, N. C, July, 1864. Dennis O'Leary, Co. D, 169th Regt. N. Y. V. Fort Fisher, N. C, July, 1864. Patrick Farrell, Co. D, 169th Regt. N. Y. V. Fort Fisher, N. C, July, 1864. Sergt. Dennis Corbett, Co. D, 169th Regt. N. Y. V. Fort Fisher, N. C, July, 1864. William H. Groom, Co. A, 118th Regt. N.Y.V. Drewry's Bluff, Va. Hosp., June, 1864. Sergt. Andrew J. Brumagym, Co. A, 118th Tiegt. N. Y. V. Drewry's Bluff, Va. Hosp.. May, 1864. Marquis Da\is, Co. A, 118th Regt. N. Y. V. Fort Harrison Hosp., 1862. Capt. John Bailey, Co. P, 93d Regt. N. Y. V. Killed at the battle of the Wildemees, Va., May 5th, 1864, M. 41 years. Corp. Charles La Rose, Co. C, 93d Regt. N.Y.V" Wilderness, Va., May, 1864. Robert Martin, Co. P, 93d Regt. N. Y. V. Wilderness, May, 1864. Wilbur F, Buswell. Co. E, 22d Regt. N. Y. V. So. Mountain, Md., Sept., 1862. Patrick Johnson, Co. E, 22d Regt. N. Y. V. Second Bull Run, Va., Aug., 1862. Benj. F. Hendricks, Co. F, 22d Regt. N. Y. V. Second Bull Run, Va^ Aug., 1862. Andrew La Point, Co. F, 22d Regt. N.Y.V. Second Bull Run, Va., Aug., 1862. Joseph Whitford, Co. E, 22d Regt. N. Y. V. Antietam, Md , Sept., 1862. Norman Williams, Co. K, 93d Regt. N.Y.V. Wilderness, Va., May, 1864. William O. Akin, Co. B, 126th Regt. N.Y.V. Atlanta, Ga., July, 1864. James Mehan, Co. H. 93d Regt. N. Y. V. Wilderness, Va., May, 18&4. Henrv McAlley, Co. E, 93d Regt. N.Y.V. Wilderness, Va., May, 1864. Frank Aubin, Co. E, 22d Regt. N. Y. V. So. Mountain Hosp., Sept., 1862. Edgar George Storer, Co. B, 123d Regt. N.Y.V. Chancellorsville, Va. Hosp., May, 1863. Barny Langdon, Co. H, 93d Regt. N.Y.V. No. Anne river, Va. Hosp., June, 1864. N. B. The monument was dedicated witli suitable and impressive services attended by a large concourse of citizens on Decoration day, May 30th, 1872. TOPOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION OF QUEENS- BURY. Boundaries of Queensbury — Westfield — Fairfield — Topogra- phical Description — Swamps and Surface Drainage — Streams AND Ponds — Keservoir and Water Works — Trout — Shad — The Town Plot — "^he Pitcher Tavernt^ Harrisena — The Oneida — Sanford's Ridge — GoodspeedvIlle — The Big Dam — Brown's Half- Way House and Settlement — Warren Co. Fair Ground. [UEENSBURY is one of the original townships erected by act of legislature on the seventh of March, seventeen hundred and eighty-eight, and its boundaries were then defined by statute as follows. ^ " And that all that part of the said county of Washington, bounded easterly by "Westfield and Kingsbury, and separated from Westfield by a line beginning at the north- west corner of the town of Kingsbury, and running in the direc- tion of Kingsbury west bounds, till it strikes the waters of Lake George, westerly by Fairfield, northerly by Lake George and a line running from the mouth of McAuley's creek, near the south end of said lake, direct to the northeast corner of the town of Fairfield, and southerly by the bounds of the county " (namely, the Hudson river, which at this point runs nearly a due east- erly course) " shall be, and continue a town by the name of Queensbury. " The name of the town of Westfield herein mentioned, was changed to Fort Ann, and that of Fairfield to Luzerne, by act of legislature on the sixth of April, eighteen hundred and eight, by reason, as the act itself explains, of the " considerable incon- venience " which " results from several of the towns in this state having the same name." On the twenty-second of October, seventeen hundred and ninety-eight, the division line between the towns of Westfield ' Queensbury * * * then comprised the territory which now forms the towns of Bolton, Caldwell, Chester, Hague, Johnsburgh, Luzerne * * * Queensbury and Thurman, being all that part of the Co. of Washington lying W. of Kingsbury and Lake George." — Spafford's Gazetteer of N. T., 1813, p. 279. TOPOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION. 143 and Queensbury was run out by the supervisors of the two towns assisted by Aaron Haight, surveyor, and " that portion of the town of Queensbury usually called Harrisena " was an- nexed, and erected into a separate road district. ( Town Records, p. 395 — 6.) About the same time, a strip of territory, one mile in width, was taken from the eastern limits of the town of Fairfield, and annexed to the western boundaries of Queens- bury. The following are the present legal boundaries of the two towns. " The town of Luzerne shall contain all that part of said county bounded on the east by a line running parallel with the west bounds of the township of Queensbury, at the distance of one mile west of said west bounds, and the same continued north ; on the north by an easterly continuation of the north bounds of the county of Saratoga, and on the west and south by the bounds of the county." " The town of Queensbury shall contain all that part of said county bounded southerly and easterly by the bounds of the county ; (viz : "by the middle of the said [north] branch and of the main stream of the said [Hudson's] river, until it reaches the southeast corner of the patent of Queensbury, with such variations as may be necessary to include the whole of every island, any part whereof is nearer to the north or east shore of the said river than to the south or west shore thereof, and to exclude the whole of every island, any part whereof is nearer to the said south or west shore than to the north or east shore aforesaid ; and easterly by the east bounds of said patent, and the same continued north to Lake George,") westerly by Lu- zerne, and northerly by a line beginning at the southwest corner of Caldwell and running thence easterly and northerly along the bounds of Caldwell to Lake George; and then along the east shore of Lake George to the bounds of the county." {Revised Statutes of New York, Fifth Edition^ vol i, pp. 137, 223.) Queens- bury is situated fifty miles ^ nearly due north from Albany, on the once great traveled mail route from the city of !N^ew York to Montreal via Saratoga Springs. The eastern and northern portions of the town are rolling and hilly, while the western part is one extended sandy plain, ' Although most of the Gazetteers and guide books make the distance fifty-eight miles, — yet one or two of the marble mile stones planted over fifty years ago, are still in existence, and determine the distance to the east line of the town as I have stated herein. 144 HISTOEY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. originally covered with a densely timbered pine forest, which for the first half century gave employment to a large per cen- tage of the population, and to the numerous saw mills which were erected in the early days of the settlement on nearly every brook and rivulet in the town. Since then, and long within the memory of many living, these extensive pine plains have been periodically cropped of the second growth yellow pine to supply the increasing demand for fuel, l^ow there is less than five hundred acres of woodland all told, between the village and the mountain, and under a more thorough and intelligent system of agriculture, these barren sand plains are rapidly being re- claimed, and becoming the most remunerative of our farming lands. The western part of the town is bordered by the Palmertown mountains, an outlying ridge of the great Adirondack range, whose beginning is at the village of Saratoga Springs, and whose termination is at Harrington hill in Warrensburgh. At the north, lying partly in this town and partly in the town of Caldwell, is the abrupt acclivity known as French mountain, some sixteen hun- dred feet in height, whose sharp promontory projects for several miles into the head waters of Lake George. On the north-east the Dresden chain of mountains throws out three considerable elevations called the Sugar Loaf, Deer Pasture and Buck mount- ains, the last two of which slope down to the very verge of the lake, and are still the home of the deer and the rattlesnake, with which all this region once abounded. This township occupying a plateau on the great water shed between the Hudson and St. Lawrence rivers, its numerous streams, brooks, ponds and rivulets, and its surface drainage as well, find widely diverging outlets; that from the northern and central parts of the town making its way to the Half-way brook and thence through Wood creek to Lake Charaplain and the St. Lawrence, while the rivulets and marshes of Harrisena empty into Lake George, and those of the west, south and eastern parts of the town are tributary to the Hudson. It is noteworthy that the volume of all the streams, the river in- cluded, has materially diminished within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, while a few, by drainage and exposure to sun and air, have ceased to exist. The same remark holds true of several swamps and marshes, which in the early days of the set- tlement were the lairs and coverts from which wild beasts issued TOPOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION. 145 in their predatory attacks upon the stock of the pioneers. Wild Cat swamp, lying upon the western borders of the village, has been almost entirely reclaimed, while a large portion of the Big Cedar swamp, stretching away for two miles from its eastern boundary, is now under successful cultivation. Among the numerous brooks, ponds and streams, with which the surface of the town is diversified, the following are considered worthy of mention. Cold brook, which for a small portion of its extent, forms a part of the eastern boundary of the town and county, runs southwardly and empties into the Hudson immediately opposite an island which in 1772 was deeded by one of the Jessups of tory memory, to Daniel Jones. This brook, and the flat adjacent, was the scene of a terrible massacre during the French war, which is elsewhere recorded. Reed's Meadow creek, the outlet of the Big Cedar swamp, above referred to, flows east and south-easterly, and after receiving various acces- sions in its somewhat tortuous route it becomes Fort Edward creek, and debouches into the Hudson, at the southern ex- tremity of the village of Fort Edward. Its name is derived from Reed Ferriss, one of the early proprietors here, and one of the commissioners appointed by the proprietors to apportion the undivided sections of the township, two of which were in- cluded within the limits of the swamp. Setting back from this outlet was a beaver dam, marsh, and meadow, where the first settlers supplied themselves with hay. The Meadow run de- rived its name similarly from a large beaver meadow, which was almost the only resource of the inhabitants at the corners, for the sustenance of their stock during the long and vigorous winters of this latitude. In some of the military reports and narratives it was called the four mile run, it being about four miles distant from the military post at the head of Lake George. This stream has its origin in the Butler pond, on a summit of a spur of the Palmertown mountains, in the west part of the town. A neighboring elevation has, from the earliest days, been known as Hunting hill, from the abundance of game once gathered there. An adjoining eminence is the seat of a rich vein of iron ore, which, three years since, was successfully worked under the auspices of the Corning Iron Company, a body of Albany capitalists. The Meadow run, after passing through an expansion of its waters called Mud pond, winds around the base of a series of 19 l46 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. • knolls, and is received at the head of Long pond not far from the outlet of Round pond, another small sheet of water lying among the hills a few rods to the south. A canal was cut by Dr. Stowers from one of these ponds to the other some years ago, for lumbering purposes, but was never completed or put in operation. There are two or three extensive peat beds in this neighborhood, one of which, at the head of an estuary stretch- ing westwardly through the marsh which makes back from Long pond, has been extensively worked during the past few years by the Albany company above referred to. There is at present a saw-mill in successful and remunerative operation near the head waters of the Meadow run. Rocky brook, designated in the early road surveys, and re- cords of the town as Hampshire creek, is a bright, sparkling mountain stream, leaping and flashing along the ravine at the western base of French mountain, propelling two saw mills on its route, and winding along through meadow, woodland and marsh, empties into the Meadow run about twenty rods above the head of Long pond. On the flat west of its banks, was one of the three picket posts referred to in Gov. Colden's proclama- tion, elsewhere quoted, and which is designated on one of the early maps as Fort Williams. In the western part of the town, having its rise in the moun- tain ridge which separates it from Luzerne, is the once famous trout stream variously known as the Pitcher, the Ogden, and the Cleudon brook, deriving these names from persons once living in its vicinity. In former years it furnished the motive power for a number of saw mills, whose decaying debris, encumber its banks at varying intervals with their unsightly accumula- tions. Still further west, on the confines of the town. Roaring brook, bounding from crag and cliff, pours its cold and foaming waters fresh from their mountain sources into the Hudson near the reefs. The waters of Long pond are discharged through the Outlet, a stream which flowing eastwardly, efl:ect8 a junction with the Half-way brook at a settlement called Jenkins or Patten's mills, near the eastern boundary of the town. This brook supplies the power for several saw mills, a grist mill, a cider mill, and a woolen factory. The Half-way brook, which was noted in the early colonial times as a halting place and rendezvous for the troops and con- TOPOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION. 147 vojs of supplies in their transit between the great military posts at Fort Edward, and the head of Lake George, is situated nearly midway between these points, and hence derives its name. Near the banks of this somewhat famous stream, and just north and west of the present plank road crossing, a block house and fort with a picketed enclosure of considerable magnitude and strength was erected about the year seventeen hundred and fifty-six. This, as appears by contemporaneous maps was named afterward Fort Amherst, in honor of the commanding general, to whose prowess was surrendered the hitherto impreg- nable fortresses at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. From time to time this post was enlarged and strengthened by outworks and embankments, rifle pits and redoubts. About one-third of a mile down the stream and on its right bank there was an outlying fortification with barracks and parade ground, known to this day in local tradition as the gar- rison ground. The remains of the old causeway and bridge on the north side of the brook, to the west of the plank road, are still visible. Here Putnam and Rogers, with their hardy rangers, have halted and bivouacked. Here the gallant Lord Howe, the pride of the English army, stopped to rest on his way to dis- aster and death. Here Burgoyne's advance, its gorgeously accoutred staff", its strange looking mercenaries with the daintily nurtured and beautiful Baroness Riedesel,' found shelter and refreshment, little dreaming of the defeat and cap- tivity which awaited them down through that sullen, pine ' " On the eighth of August, General Riedesel was detached with three batta- lions to John's farm between Forts George and Edward, for the purpose, not only of covering the communication with Fort George, but to promote the conveyance of the convoy to the army. There, in that place, he was completely cut oflF from the army. So he entrenched himself in a strongly fortified camp, that he might be able to defend himself to the last man." — Memoirs of Madame Riedesel. A note to the foregoing states that " this farm was immediately north of Half- way brook two miles from the present pretty village of Glen's Falls. After the disastrous expedition of Baum and Breymann to Bennington, Burgoyne " entrusted to Riedesel the duty of maintaining communication with Fort Anne and Fort George. The latter, therefore, having with him the German regiments of Rhetz and Hesse Hanau, and the 47th English regiment with sis guns of heavy calibre, broke up camp on the 18th, marched to Fort Edward, where he rallied his troops, and, on the 19th, arrived at John's farm and took up a position in a fortified camp." — Memoirs of Gen. Riedesel, vol. i, p. 133. This reference to John's farm in the foregoing quotations is understood to apply to Jonathan Pitcher, who, being a rebel, had fled before the approach of the Eng- lish troops, and taken refuge in the American camp below. 148 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBUEY shaded corduroy road leading towards Bemis's Heights. And here, too, Abraham Wing and the pioneer settlers of the town- ship, found a dubious welcome, and their first night's lodging on the scene of their future labors. The Half-way brook has its source in the same mountain range, and but a short distance west from the head w^aters of its sister stream, the Meadow run. Near the foot of the moun- tain, and nearly encircled by hills, is a natural basin, which, during thepastseasou has been artificially enlarged, and cleaned; and a massive wall of masonry thrown across its outlet, for the formation of a reservoir to supply the Glen's Falls water-works, a public and much needed improvement, which has been but recently completed at a cost of about eighty thousand dollars. The surplus and waste water is directed back to its wonted channel immediately below the reservoir. Running a tortuous course south eastwardly across the plains,, the Half-way brook expands into the Forge pond, a small sheet of water, about one and a half miles west of the village of Glen's Falls, and for a long period the favorite resort of the disciples of the gentle Isaac Walton, in pursuit of the speckled trout which once abounded in this stream. At this point, as far back as the year eighteen hundred and eleven, a forge and trip hammer shop were erected by an enterprising pioneer named Johnson. At the same time, a saw mill was built which is still in operation, and which for years supplied the neighborhood, and sent to market the products of the neighboring forests. The manu- facture of iron for some cause did not prove remunerative, and the enterprise, after languishing a few years, was finally aban- doned leaving its name, however, to the pond as a parting legacy, and a reminder of the old French proverb, that " it is only success that succeeds." About a mile below, and nearly oppo- site to the garrison ground already referred to, is an enlarge- ment of the Half-way brook called Briggs's pond, at the foot of which stands a dam and race way, affording power and facili- ties for the works of the Glen's Falls brick company. Here, at the close of the last century, stood a saw mill ; while across the flat, some forty or fifty rods further west, in a ravine partly natural, but enlarged by the hand of art, stood a large grist- mill, carried by water, conducted by a canal, artificially con- structed, and leading from the pond above named. These mills were owned and run by Walter Briggs, and were resorted to TOPOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION. 149 by the inhabitants and farmers from far and near, at a period when there was no grist-mill at Glen's Falls. The buildings have long since been torn down or removed, but the embank- ments of the canal, and the foundations of the mill are still con- spicuous in the green meadow. From this point the Half-way- brook bears north eastwardly through a continuation of swale, marsh, and meadow, creeping sluggishly along at the base of the ridge, and passes the Kingsbury town line in the neigh- borhood of a settlement bearing the euphonious name of Frog hollow. A basin among the hills, half a mile to the west of the settlement called the Oneida, contains a circular sheet of water, a few acres in extent, known as the Round pond. Here was built, among the pines, on its shore, the first Baptist church of Queensbury. A small enclosure near by, contains one of the oldest burial places in town. Butler brook, near the north bounds of the corporation limits of Glen's Falls, has its source in three small brooks, one of which receives the drainage of the Wild Cat swamp and west part of the village, the second crosses the plank road at the old Mallory place, and the third has its source in a swale a little north of the Warren county fair grounds. It was on this branch, tra- dition informs us, that in the year seventeen hundred and eighty-three, while on his way to visit, and inspect the fortifi- cations at Lake George, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point, General Washington and staff" halted to slake their thirst, and were waited upon with a cup and pail and a supply of water from the brook, by Jeremiah Briggs, who was at work in a neighboring field. This stream derived its name from one of the earliest settlers, who lived in its vicinity. Espousing the royal cause, at or during the war, he buried such of his effects as he could, and fled to Canada. His house shared the fate of most of the buildings in this vicinity at that time, being burnt by the savages and tories in one of their numerous eruptions. The Butler brook after the confluence of its branches winds around the cemetery grounds, and unites with the Half-way brook about two miles north of Glen's Falls, midway between the Eiidge and Bay roads. These ponds and streams, during the early days of the set- tlement, were abundantly stocked with trout, which, with the game, then so plentiful in the surrounding forests, constituted a large portion of the resources of the inhabitants. It was 150 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. related to me by one of the patriarchs of the town that in a winter of uncommon severity, some of the families in Harrisena carried through their stock of cattle on a supply of salted fish of which they had secured a large quantity the preceding season. Until the erection of dams and mills, shad ran up in the spring as far as the Falls where they were caught in consider- able quantities, and were to some extent an article of commerce. The original survey of the township contemplated the location of the village at the Half-way brook, where the existing clearings and buildings offered a strong inducement to the first settlers to locate their houses. Here the town plot was laid out, ranging due north and south. The lots were often acres each and forty- four in number, beside the road ways, four rods in width, sur- rounding the whole, an eight rod road in each direction, bisect- ing the plot into four equal sections. Four central lots at these angles were reserved for church and school purposes and for public buildings. Either half to the east and west was also divided by a north and south road four rods in width. It is needless to sa}^ that no settlement was ever established here, and that Champlain's tannery, and the Pitcher tavern occupying the site just north of the Half-way brook upon which a brick house now stands, are the nearest approach to public buildings erected on the site of this projected village, after the original survey by Zaccheus Towner in 1762. The old Pitcher tavern was a place of considerable note in those days when every log hut was an inn, and every framed dwell- ing a hotel. It was kept by Jonathan Pitcher, whose name frequently appears in the town records, chiefly in connection with matters pertaining to the excise law, on two occasions he being excused by a vote of the people, from paying his license. Harrisena is a neighborhood at the north part of the town, and derives its name from the original founders of the settle- ment. The region comprising this somewhat vaguely defined locality, includes some of the most fertile and productive farm- ing lands in the county of Warren. The Harrisena patent proper embraced two thousand acres of land, and was originally conveyed to Robert Ilarpur and others, but the grant for some cause was surrendered to the crown, and reissued in 1772 to John Lawrence, Henry Boel and Stephen Tuttle, who relin- quished or sold their title to Moses Harris. He, with another brother, settled upon it in 1787, and in the following January TOPOGEAPHY AND DESCRIPTION. 151 obtained certificates of location of the same, with several other rights or claims, embracing in all a territory of between three and four thousand acres. At about the same time, Joshua Harris secured certificates of location for four lots of two hun- dred acres each in the same vicinity. These lands have mostly remained in the hands of the Harris family and their descend- ants to the present day. The first house erected here was a log tenement, built near a spring about ten rods south-east of the Rufus Harris place. Joseph Harris was the first settler, and moved here about the year 1784. The next was a framed house, and was built for Moses Harris by John Phettyplace. It stood near the site occupied by the Henry Harris homestead. This wealthy and thriving agricultural district has in the course of years become thickly and compactly settled, for a farming region, possessing admirable public schools, two churches one of which has a settled pastor ; its ailments cared for by a resi- dent physician ; many of its wants provided for and supplied by home mechanics ; while bordering upon the bays and points jutting in and out around the head of Lake George are several pleasant and attractive places of resort, where travelers, invalids, pleasure seekers, business men, worn out with the wearying and incessant round of business cares, repair year by year in con- stantly increasing numbers, for that rest and recuperation, so difficult to find among the hot, crowded thoroughfares of our fashionable resorts, and summer watering places. Five miles to the north of the village of Glen's Falls, on the road to Harrisena, is situated a small settlement, which, for up- wards of fifty years has borne in local colloquial phrase, the name of the Oneida. The attempt has been made to call it North- ville, and Middleville, but no eflbrt to shake oti:* the former appellation has been successful. About the time of the last war with England, this was a place of considerable import- ance, having two good sized and well patronized inns, three stores doing a quite extensive trade, a large lumbering business, in connection with adjacent mills, various mechanic shops, and a Baptist church and society. Here two noted justices of the peace, Dan D. Scott, and James Henderson, held their weekly and august tribunals, at which as many as one hundred and seventy summonses, besides criminal processes and subpoenas have been made returnable in one day. Every Saturday, sometimes oftener, from fifty to two hundred people assembled 152 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY here to listen to the encounter of argument, the brilliant collision of wit and repartee, and the splendid oratory of that gifted and eloquent array of legal talent, which then graced the bar of Warren and Washington counties. The first house at the Oneida was erected by Joshua Chase about the year 1793. The name was derived from a half breed Oneida Indian, by the name of Thomas Hammond. He, with his sister Dinah, were brought up by Capt. Green of Whipple city, now Greenwich, Washington county, N. Y. Some little time previous to the outbreak of the war he removed to Queens- bury, and opened a store of general merchandise in a building which is still standing on the corner opposite and fronting the old tavern stand ; and here, for a number of years, he was en- gaged in carrying on a considerable trade, mixed up to some extent with the lumbering business. From the often repeated expressions, " let's go up to the Oneida's," " I bought this at the Oneida's," " we must send down to the Oneida's," was derived the name which through the vicissitudes of half a century has clung like a burr to the settlement. Hammond married Keziah, a sister of James Reynolds of Caldwell. Pursued by the red man's curse, an unappeasable appetite for the terrible fire water, he finally failed in business, removed to French mountain, and died a wretched inebriate and outcast. Since then, the magnifi- cent pine forests which once stretched their serried ranks across plain and hill side, from the lake to the Kingsbury line, have been cut down, the local traffic has diminished, and the import- ance of the settlement decreased. One or two stores, however, are still kept up, and a few artisans still ply their craft in a humble way. Some change in the route of travel or tlje drift of commerce, may yet occur to revive the dormant activity of this quiet settlement. The Ridge, or Sanford's ridge, is a name applied to a thickly settled farming district, stretching a distance of three or four miles along a crest of rich, arable land beginning about two miles north of Glen's Falls village, and terminating beyond the town line on the east. Toward the close of the last century, this was a settlement of greater size and im- portance than the village at the Falls. At that time, there were two etores, a tavern, several mechanic shops and two physicians. In the year 1800 the Quaker church was built on the corners two miles north of the village. The first settler at the Ridge was Elijah Bartow who plied his trade TOPOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION. 153 as a blacksmith on what is known as the Gould Sanford farm. He lived in a log house near by. One of the first framed houses in the neighborhood was built and occupied by James Tripp on the site now covered by the residence of Joseph Haviland. Abraham Tucker about the same time built on the farm south- west of the Quaker church. This neighborhood derived its name from David Sanford, Esq., who, in 1795, removed from the town of New Milford, Conn., to Queensbury and established himself in trade at this point. For the next ten years he was prominently identified with the business interests of the town, and the development of its resources. He was frequently chosen to office, and up to the time of his death was a man of mark and consideration. One and a half miles westward from Glen's Falls is a strag- gling suburb which bears the name of Goodspeedville. This settlement was founded about the year 1845, by a keen, shrewd speculator named Stephen Goodspeed, who in 1842, bought of Allan Gow, a tract of pine plain land, known as the Skinner farm. Meeting with but indifferent success as a farmer, the purchase was laid out into village lots, and was sold in quantities to suit purchasers, many of whom built upon and occupied their newly acquired homes. Thus a small hamlet was gradually gathered, whose residents chiefly find employment upon the neighboring mills, and river, or as laborers at farm work; while a few find more profitable or desirable occupation in mechanical pursuits, for which the outgrowth of the adjacent village occasions an ever increasing demand. The construction of the .ISTorthern canal eventuated in the erection of the big dam across the Hudson river, two miles above Glen's Falls. This structure as originally built was seven hundred and seventy feet long, by twelve feet high, and was primarily intended to secure a permanent supply of water for the summit level of the Northern canal above Fort Edward. The Glen's Falls feeder was a contemporaneous work, at first a big ditch, afterwards enlarged, with the addition of locks, and completed for navigable use, as elsewhere stated, about the year 1832. This dam was rebuilt in a very substantial manner in 1872, at the expense of the state, about two feet in height added, and its security protected by massive and expensive stone work at either extremity. A strong and well constructed guard 20 154 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. lock admits the waters of the river, and permits the passage of lighters to and from the mills on the opposite side of the river. Contemporaneous with the construction of the dam, was the erection of saw mills', and as a consequence of this important industry, quite a settlement has grown up in the neighborhood, the buildings being mostly occupied with the laborers and em- ployes engaged upon these works. Another thriving settlement in town, has been built up near the upper toll gate on the Glen's Falls and Lake George plank road, chiefly through the energy and enterprise of Mr. George Brown, proprietor of the half-way-house, and a lineal de- scendant in the fourth remove from Valentine Brown, one of the original settlers of the town. The post office at this point, which has been established for more than twenty years, bears the name of French Mountain, while another, situated near the outlet, about four miles eastwardly, is called Queens- bury post office. A blacksmith and wagon-shop, a tin-shop, store, saw-mill, and other industries are here gathered as a nucleus and promise of future growth. The half-way-house, kept by Mr. Brown, is a place of frequent resort by pleasure travelers in the summer season, who find a more than common attraction in the genial hospitalities, and home like comforts of this place. From the beginning of the century, and even dating farther back, this locality has been famous for its well kept tavern, which, in those early days, occupied the corner on the east side of the street facing the present building. In the first instance this was an unpretentious log dwelling occupied and kept by David Buck. This was ^,t a later date replaced by a framed building, where Buck was succeeded in the course of time by his widow. Here for many years, and until within a comparatively recent period, town meetings, elections, and political gatherings were periodically held. The building was torn down about the time the plank road was constructed, and replaced by the present structure. Until the purchase and completion of the fair ground in the vicinity of. Glen's Falls, the Warren county fairs were for several years held in this neighborhood, where with great liberality Mr. Brown had, at his own expense, erected the necessary buildings, secured the enclosure with a suitable, substantial fence, and laid out and graded a trotting course, all of which are now rapidly mouldering to decay. ^ -w^ TOPOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION. 155 The "Warren county fair grounds, which are located a short distance above the north bounds of the corporation of Glen's Falls, were purchased in the year 1868 by a company qf gentle- men residing in the village, who with great liberaHty advanced means for erecting suitable buildings, grading, preparing and ornamenting the grounds, and making the enterprise not only a success, but in no way inferior by comparison with similar undertakings. For his special efforts in behalf of this society, its officers and members, in the fall of 1873, presented Hon. Jerome Lapham, (a) one of the stockholders in the above named association, with a service of plate. (a) The Hon. Jerome Lapham, second son of Jonathan and Elizabeth S. (Healy) Lapham, was born in Queensbury on the 4th of December, 1823. He was the grandson of Stephen Lapham, whose name figures conspicuously in the early town ■ records, and who, accompanied by his wife and six daughters, came to this town from the island of Nantucket, as nearly as can be ascertained, about the year 1785. He was born in 1762, and was killed by the falling from the shed of the then new Quaker Meeting House at the Ridge, in 1802. He was engaged in shingling the roof, slipped, fell, and struck his head upon a pile of stones, which caused his immediate death. He was a farmer by occupation. When he came here he bought several hundred acres of heavily timbered land lying between the Bay and Ridge roads, afterwards cleared and sold off for farms to various parties. The Lapham homestead was on the site covered by the dwell- ing owned and occupied by the late Grant Haviland. Stephen Lapham was a member of the society of Friends, and was a person widely esteemed, and of con- siderable influence. The subject of this sketch removed with his parents to Glen's Falls in the spring of 1833. His early education was derived from such advantages as were afforded in the district schools of his neigborhood, and one term of tuition at the Glen's Falls Academy. At the tender age of twelve he commenced the great struggle of existence, by working out on a fann. From that date, the rapidly shifting views of his life, find him variously employed, up to his twe .ty-second year, as canal driver, boat hand, teamster, errand boy, clerk. He then went to New York and remained about six months in partnership with an uncle in a retail tea and sugar store. At the end of this time, he returned to Glen's Falls, not much better off" than he left, but with a fund of valuable experience. He now en- tered into partnership with James Morgan, in whose employment he had already served a long apprenticeship, and who, at the time named, was carrying on an extended, and well established mercantile business on the corner of Glen and Ex- change streets, on the site now occupied by Messrs. Coolidge & Lee. In 1850 he became largely interested in a heavy lumber purchase in the 16th town- ship, which was increased and extended by the firm afterward from time to time as opportunity offered. In addition to this, their business was augmented by the establishment of a freighting and transpoi'tation line on the Northern canal, and Glen's Falls feeder. This, at first small in its proportions, was gradually extended to a line of eight boats. The mercantile business was disposed of to Mr. Charles . Rice in 1856. The lumber interest increased in its extent and importance until 1863, when Mr. Lapham disposed of his share, and retired on what he considered a competency. Since that time, he has been largely identified with the public 156 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. interests and improvements of the place. Has been elected supervisor of the town four terms; held that responsible position during the important crisis of 1864-5, when, by virtue of his office, he was also chairman of the town war committee, and for three years gave almost his entire time to the many complicated questions growing out of that relation. He was also elected to the assembly of 1865, and served ably, and satisfactorily to his constituents in that capacity. He was one of a few public spirited individuals whose action in favor of a horse railroad to Fort Edward resulted in securing our present steam communication M'ith the great busi- ness and commercial centres. He has been for several years a director in the First National Bank of Glen's Falls, and of the Glen's Falls Insurance Company. He was also one of a few whose public spirit, despite clamor or calumny, has pushed through, to successful operation, the admirable system of water-works wLich our village now possesses. Mr. Lapham is yet in the flush and vigor of an active manhood, and has still before him a future whose golden freighted fruit has yet to mature and ripen, before the sturdy trunk will bend to the weight of its burden or bow to the infirm ities of years. THE ARCH, glen's FALLS. FIKST NATIONAL BANK, GLEN'S PALLS. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. )S an appropriate sequel to the topographical descrip- tion of the town of Queensbury, there is herewith appended a list of names of places and buildings, the far greater portion of which have been met with in the early road surveys, and other town records. To these have been added some obtained from the Wing, the Robards and the Peck Manuscripts, and other old family papers. In a few instances designations of modern or more recently constructed buildings have been introduced both for the sake of illustration, and to give opportunity for a fitting description. Whenever it has been practicable to obtain them, dates have been affixed to show the contemporaneous use and application of these terms. Austin's, Phineas, mill, 1808. A saw mill situated on the outlet of the Big pond. Austin's, Solomon, mill, 1808. A saw mill situated on the outlet of the Big pond. Baldwin's mill, 1854, 7. A saw mill situated near the left bank of the Hudson river, on the waste weir leading from the Glen's Falls feeder, about half way between Glen's Falls and Sandy Hill. Bank, The First National of Glen's Falls. Was first organized in Jan- uary, 1853, as the Commercial Bank of Glen's Falls, in what was then known as the Sherwood building, erected somewhere about 1841 or '2, on the same site covered by the present structure. It was purchased by the bank of W. S. Sherwood for S2,800, and was destroyed'in the great conflagration of 1864. The present building was erected the same year at a cost of $18,000. Architect, Walter Dickson, of Albany; builders, D. C. Holman, mason, Morgan & Wright, carpenters. Original capital unchanged $136,400. Average circulation, $120,000. Average deposits since 1865, $300,000. Reorganized as a National bank April, 1865. OFFICERS. President, .. William McDonald, from organization. " .. Augustus Sherman, from November 23d, 1858 NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 159 Vice President, Bethuel Peck, from organization. " " Augustus Sherman, (a) from February, 1855 " " Linus B. Barnes, from November, 1858 " " James Morgan, from February, 1861 " " Jerome Lapham, from November, 1873 Cashier, .. Isaiah Scott, from organization. " .. Fred. A. Johnson jr., from April, 1859 " .. Emmett Johnson, from January, 1865 Original Board of Directors. Lewis Hunt, James C. Clark, William W. Rockwell, Bethuel Peck, Keyes P. Cool, James Morgan, Hermon Peck, William H. Warren, Quartus Curtis, Augustus Sherman, Erskine Gr. Clark, Joseph Russell. William McDonald, (a) The subject of this sketch, was born in the town of Arlingrton, Vt., on the eleventh of February, 1801. He was the son of Ware Darwin, and Anna D. (Can- field) Sherman, the latter of Arlington, Vt., the former from Conway, Mass., whence the Sherman family in this country is understood to have originated. By his father's side he was nearly connected to the distinguished statesman and patriot, Roger Sherman, of Revolutionary fame : by the mother, to the Rev. Dr. Canfield, the eminent divine. At the tender age of five years, his parents removed first to Kingsbury, N. Y., and the following spring to the then frontier settlement of Fairfield, now Luzerne on the Hudson river. His only opportunities for an education were derived from winter attendance upon such schools as the sparsely settled lumber districts of our wilderness border can afford, added to one winter's schooling in his native town. The father followed the mingled pursuits of lumbering and farming, and the son early learned the necessity of hard and exhaustive application, to severe and rough work. Before the Glen's Falls feeder was constructed he used to draw lumber across from Corinth or biy falls, raft it in cribs to the bend and from thence take it across to Deadman's point above Fort Edward ; and after the big dam at that place was built, it was carried still further down the river to Rogers' land- ing, opposite Schuyler's island, whence it was rafted to market. With the opening of the Glen's Fall feeder, he was among the first to place a boat on its waters for the transportation of lumber. When but fifteen years of age, when boys of the present day are next to helpless, he was obliged to wagon lumber alone to Albany, attending both to sales and purchases, with the care and thoughtfulness of an adult. The following season, in conseqvience of his father's financial troubles and difficulties, he was obliged to take charge and management of the entire business, working early and late with unfiagging perseverance in order to help his father out of debt. His first venture in the lumbering business on his own account, was running an old English mill, with two saws, which stood on a small stream which empties into the Hudson near the residence of Thurlow Leavins in Luzerne. At the same time he had the running of a grist mill near by, and at this laborious, double task, besides drawing and rafting his lumber to market, he laid the foundation elected September, 1853 u February, 1854 u July, 1854 u February, 1855 160 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. Since organization the following changes have occurred in the board, viz : Jeremy llockwell, William A. Fonda, . Isaiah Scott, .... Levi Hatch, .... Enos Howland, .... Henry Ferguson, RuliffKipp, .... Ira Harris, .... Charles R. Richards, . Daniel Sweet, .... U. G. Paris, .... Linus B. Barnes, («) James Morgan, .... 1856 1857 1858 August, for the princely fortune he has since attained. Three years later he took the Buttolph mill further down the river. He was married on the fourth of March, 1824, to a young lady by the name of Nancy Weed, who was at that time engaged in teaching in the neighborhood. He had nine children by this marriage, all of whom are living but three. Having dis- posed of his interest in Luzerne, in the winter of 1840-41, he removed to the feeder dam, where he resumed the manufacture of lumber on a larger scale, with increased facilities. Two years later he came to Glen's Falls, which has since been made his permanent residence. Year by year, with increased means at command, his lumber operations became more and more extended, until they assumed colossal proportions. His timber land investments commenced about the time of his removal to Glen's Falls, by a pur(?liase in the sixteenth township. This resulted in prompt and lucrative returns. Since that period he has seemed to have the gift of the golden touch. Possessed of rare good judgment, and strong common sense, his investments, numerous and varied as they have been, have been in- variably prospered in every direction, until he has attained an aggregate fortune, equal if not greater than that of any person in the county. His wife died 12th June, 1848. On the first of September, 1856, he was married again to ( 'harlotte H., daughter of the Rev. T. L. Conkling, of Martinsburgh, Lewis Co., N. Y. There have been four children born by this marriage, none of whom now survive. As shown by the record he is associated either as trustee, director manager or president, in nearly all of our monied corporations. He was the first president of the Glen's Falls Paper Mill Co., and also of the Bald Mountain Lime Company. Having retired within the last two or three years from his more ex- tended pursuits, he has interested himself in the erection of a handsome and costly block of stores and offices, which beais his name, and will, it is hoped, prove not only an elegant addition to our village, but an enduring fame, a monument sacred and perpetual to bis memory. Still vigorous and active for his years, genial and kind hearted, it is to be hoped that the downhill slope of life will be spread out for him in many a green fic^ld, many a flowery nook, many a pleasant and sunny expanse, enjoying to the fullest extent of earthly capacity the well earned fruits of his early toil. (a) Linus B.\tes Barnes, son of John and Mary (Bates) Barnes, was born at Granville, Camden Co., Mass., on the 6th of June, 1803, where his infancy and youth were passed, and where he received the only educational advantages ever ^<-6^AZ5 "<^'^oia)i / NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 161 elected January, " February, 1859 1860 October, " February, 1862 1864 " 1865 August, 1867 brook at the West Alexander Robertson, Henry Crandell, Jerome Lapham, .... " " *' Samuel Pruyn, " " 1861 Gustavus A. Austin, ... " " " Nathaniel Barker, . . . . " " " Charles Fowler, .... " Lifelet Harris, " William H. Gayger, ... Daniel V. Brown, . . . . " William McEachron, ... " Martin Coffin, " Barber's, David, saw mill, 1837. On the trout mountain. Bay, Big. An expansion of the Hudson river above the big bend. Bay, Little. An enlargement of the Hudson river above the Big bay, and a short distance east from the original town boundary. Bend, Big. A bold curve in the Hudson river about three miles above Glen's Falls, shaped something like the letter U, and enclosing a peninsula of two or three square miles. placed within his reach. At the early age of fourteen he commenced the great struggle of life as a clerk in a mercantile establishment at Hartford, Conn., where he remained for a number of years. It was at this formative period of his career that he became impressed with the truths of Divine Revelation, and was made the subject of saving grace. Before he had completed his fifteenth year he united with the church under the pastorate of Dr. Hawes, and from that time up to the period when the javelin of death assailed him at the portals of his own church doors, he was a consistent, ardent and zealous member of the Presbyterian church. His first business venture on his own account was in trade at Blandford, Mass., about the year 1826. Here he remained for seven years, with something more than average success, and acquired the repute of a thorough and energetic busi- ness man. On the 19th of November, 1828, he was married to Miss Emily Treat. About the year 1833 he removed to the city of Albany, where he engaged in the leather business. Two years later he removed his family to Glen's Falls, and, at the same time embarked in the manufacture of leather at Johnsburgh, in this county. At this point, for a period of twenty years, his business interests were large and important. In 1846 a bank, the only one ever in the county north of Glen's Falls, was started, and continued in successful operation for about ten years. Of this, called The Warren County Bank, Mr. Barnes was president. It was a bank of issue, and at one time had a circulation of $180,000. Its affairs were so judiciously conducted under his management that it was a source of handsome revenue to its stockholders, and when its circulation was called in, every dollar was redeemed that was presented, and an outstanding deposit made sufficient to liquidate all further claims. About the year 1860 Mr. Barnes discontinued his connection with the Johnsburgh tannery. Hopelessly involved and crippled through causes which it is not our pro- 21 162 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Black Snake. A crooked reach in the Glen's Falls feeder, about one mile below the village, near the Jointa Lime Company's kilns. Blind rock, the. 1787, 1808, '19. See pages 14, 15, 16. Block island swamp, 1810, 11. The western portion of the ^ig Cedar swamp' contains an island of this name, which, in seasons of high water is almost inaccessible. It is supposed that a small block house was built here during the Revolutionary war, and that it was within its shelter that Polly Wing took refuge with her son Daniel W., at the time of Carleton's invasion in 1780. Boom, the Big. A structure built by the associated lumbermen of Fort Edward, Sandy Hill and Glen's Falls for the purpose of catching and securing the large bodies of logs often floated down by the spring freshets in the Hudson river. It is situated at the Big bend, about three miles up the river from Glen's Falls, and is composed of large logs and timbers bolted and chained together, and supported by numerous piers placed diagonally and at frequent intervals across the stream Bridge, Bentley's, 1799. A bridge crossing the Outlet, on the Dunham's bay road. Bridge, the Hunters', 1798. A well known place to sportsmen, it having been a famous runway for deer and other game- It spans a small rivulet, about forty rods west of the Bay road, at the rear of Jonathan Potter's residence, and on the by-road leading thence to the plank road by Brown's pond. vince to canvass, he surrendered all that he had to his creditors, and started life anew with penury and want staring him in the face. He met the struggle with a serene and brave spirit, and never, to the last day of his existence, slackened in the honorable endeavor to win his bread and support by honest industry. He has always, since his residence in Glen's Falls, held a large measure in the respect of the community. Public spirited and energetic, he has never been found wanting in open and earnest adhesion to all principles which tend to the uplift of humanity and the conservation of public morals. On the question of temperance, particularly, his voice and eiforts were ever ready to sustain and advocate its most ultra doctrines and carry into execution its most thorough and radical measures. Among the first to secure a lot in the new cemetery, his last surviving child, his father and sister were in rapid succession consigned to its peaceful shades, and in view of the interest and attention he bestowed upon the city of the dead, he was made superintendent, a position which he had held uninterrupted!)' up to the time of his death. He was twice or thrice elected coroner. For upwards of thirty years he was a ruling elder and twenty years a trustee of the church in whose communion he lived and died. His death, which was sudden and unlocked for, occurred on the evening of Monday, the 6th of January, 1873. He accompanied his wife to church to attend the first meeting of the week of prayer. He had not felt well before leaving home. After reaching tlie church, his breathing became difficult and labored, and he rested awhile on the steps in tlie church porch before entering tlie church. Continuing to grow worse, he was taken home, and shortly after sank away to that last, deep, dreamless sleep of death. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 163 Bridge, the river, 1798. The town records show that John A. Fer- riss was at this date allowed eight dollars and a half for services done on the river bridge, thereby establishing the fact that a bridge across the river then existed. Four years later a grant was ob- tained for a toll bridge, in which Gen. Warren Ferriss was at first largely interested, but which afterward became the property of John Folsom. Briggs's, Jeremiah, mill, 1838-44. A grist mill on the Half-way brook at the foot of Briggs's pond, near the present brick yard. Brook, the Cold, 1798, 1808-24. A small stream on the eastern bound- ary of the town in Harrisena, running north and emptying into Lake George. Another stream bearing the same name crosses the road near Sandy Hill and empties into the Hudson river. It also forms for a short distance the eastern boundary of the town. Brown's mill. A saw mill on Rocky brook, a short distance east of Brown's Half-way house, on the road leading to the Oneida. Brown's pond. Sometimes also called the Round pond. A lovely sheet of water near to and south of the Big pond, near the road leading from the brick yard north towards the plank road. It empties into the Meadow run, a short distance from the point where that stream delivers its waters into the Big pond. Carman's neck, 1789. The narrowest reach or isthmus of the peninsula enclosed by the Big bend. So named from John Carman, an ori- ginal proprietor under the Prindle patent. The title, however, subsequently failed by reason of its being included within the limits of the great Kayaderosseras patent. Caves, the. Passages worn by the action of water through the bed rock at Glen's Falls. Some of them are quite spacious, admitting of several persons standing erect in them, at the same time. They have been made famous as the scene of some startling but wholly fictitious adventures in the novel, The Last of the Mohicans, by J. Fenimore Cooper. Cedar landing, 1843. One of the numerous points, which fringe the Queensbury boundaries of Lake George. Cemetery, the. A place of sepulture originally consisting of sixteen acres bought by the corporation of Glen's Falls in 1854. The original ground is nearly filled, but large additions have been made to the original purchase. Champlain's tannery. A well known establishment on the Half-way brook, at the plank road crossing, two miles north of Glen's Falls. It has been in operation for about fifty years, and has only been discontinued within the past two or three years. 164 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. Chapman's, Porter S., inn. 1834-5. A large public house, originally consisting of a story and a half leanto, which was built as early as 1812, on the site of the grass plot in front of Mrs. James C. Finch's residence ; and an old fashioned swing sign for a number of years commemorated the event by the following inscription, COFFEE HO USE, 1812. It was enlarged to a spacious and comfortable building by its pro- prietor, Samuel G. Skinner, in 1814. At this time an infair and ball was held, at which the best society of the surrounding country was present, much to the annoyance of John A. Ferriss, the owner of the Glen's Falls Hotel. The feeling of rivalry was so great be- tween the two houses that Skinner on this occasion sent to Albany for a professional cook. The entertainment must have been a sumptuous affair, to have retained a place in the memory of man for a period of sixty years. The hotel was kept by Skinner for a number of years. The name was afterwards changed to the Union Hotel. It was burned about the year 1842. Church, the west. A Union church edifice erected at the West moun- tain about forty years ago, chiefly through the exertions and aid of the late Halsey Burnham. It is now occupied chiefly, if not ex- clusively, by the Baptists. Clendon brook, the. A bright, sparkling, mountain stream arising in the West mountain, and running through the Clendon farm ; once famous for its trout, and known as the trout brook, in the early days of the settlement. Lower down it bears the name of the Ogden brook, and the Pitcher brook. CoSQROVE Music Hall. Originally called the Cosgrove Opera House. Built by Messrs. Keeffe and Amer in 1869, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. Size 50 X 75 feet. This admirable hall, elegantly and tastefully decorated, and finished, has a seating capacity for about one thousand persons. A spacious and well arranged gallery and a stage of 20 by 50 feet, with drop curtains and full set of scenery on flats. The acoustic properties of the hall are simply perfect, and the arrangements for lighting ample and complete. The illustration exhibits on the right, a corner of the old Union Hall, adjoining, which was built immediately after the great fire, and was for several years, the only public hall in the place. Cronkhite's hotel. A popular place of entertainment, and quiet sum- mer resort, on the east side of Lake George, near the north-eastern boundary of the town. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 165 Cronkhite's mill. A saw mill, now no longer in use, near the river, below the quarries, and opposite the Jointa Lime Company's kilns. Another mill, bearing the same name, and belonging to the same proprietor, was situated at the Little bay, in the west part of the town. Dam, Big. A structure twelve feet in height built by the state across the Hudson river two miles above Glen's Falls, at the time of the construction of the Glen's Falls feeder, for the purpose of creating a pond and level adequate for the supply of water in the Northern canal. It was very substantially rebuilt in 1872, and about two feet added to its height. There are large lumber manufacturing establishments at either end of the dam. COSGROVE MUSIC HALL. Danford's, Samuel, inn, 1812. A lumberman and river driver's board- ing house and resort, at Big bay on the Moreau side, in the early days when the lumber manufactured up the river, was rafted down in cribs to this place, taken out carried across to Deadman's point at Fort Edward, and thence rafted down the river to find a market in Troy and Albany or New York. 166 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Derby's, John, hotel, 1816. The old Wing stand something remodelled and rejuvenated. A noted inn of that day. It stood on the site of Cowles & Co.'s store. Dunham's bay, 1819-21. A projection of the southern extremity of Lake George, bordering upon the town of Queensbury. Named after Elijah Dunham, an enterprising merchant and lumberman, who at one time owned a fine sloop, which conveyed passengers, as well as lumber and merchandise, through Lake George. East line. A term applied in the early part of the century to the east- ern boundary of the town, in the vicinity of the Pancher quarries. Emmons's, Adonijah, store, 1814. A room in the south end of the dwell- ing on Glen street, now owned and occupied by J. W. Finch. Factory, the. Sometimes called Curtis's factory. Woolen cloth works on the Ridge road, on the outlet of the Big pond. Destroyed by fire in 1869. Fairpield, to the line of, 1808. Original name of Luzerne township. Fancher quarries. Extensive lime stone beds on the eastern boundary of the town. The products of these quarries, are yearly becoming an increased article of export and revenue. Feeder dam. The big dam, two miles above the village, constructed by the state to create a pond for the supply of water to the Northern canal at the level above Fort Edward. Feeder, the. The branch canal leading from the big dam above Glen's Falls to Fort Edward, and supplying the level of the Northern canal at that place with water. Ferriss's, John A-, inn, 1802, 3, 5. The building now occupied by A. N. Locke as a dwelling, next north of the Glen's Falls Insurance building. Ferriss's, Warren, mills Saw and grist mills situated on the site of the Glen's Falls Company's Stone Mills and the race way above it. Ferry, Samuel Fairchild's, 1786. Across the Hudson river, at the foot of the reefs, and above the Big bay. Ferry, Park's. A ferry established just above the falls across the river previous to the Kevolution, by the Parks family. Five mile creek, the, 1819.1 l^lsewhere described as the Meadow run. So Five mile run, the, 1797. j called from its being about that distance from the head of Lake George. FoRBEs's and Johnson's forge, 1811. A forge of considerable note in its day, situated at the outlet of the Forge pond, from whence the latter derived its name. It was worked mostly in the manufacture from bog iron ore, of the old fashioned plough shares. The ore was drawn principally from a point east of Fort Edward, and was reduced by a cheap process of charcoal smelting, the coal being pro- duced abundantly from the adjacent plains. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 167 Ford, at the sand beach. A point in the river, nearly opposite the Glen's Falls Transportation Company's office, where, before the erec- tion of a bridge, there was a ridge of bed rock available as a rough fording place in low water. The terminus of the ford on the Moreau side was opposite the lower point of the island. Ford, Morgan's. A fording place in the Hudson river, opposite the road intersecting the highway to Fort Edward, at the old Reuben Morgan place about midway between Glen's Falls and Sandy Hill. It was much used during, and anterior to the Revolutionary war, being on the direct route between Skeenesborough and the Middle line at Ballston, and other settlements in the Saratoga district. It was here that a portion of Burgoyne's army crossed the river at the time of his advance towards Saratoga, and encamped on the heights on the south side of the river. Forge pond. An expansion of the Half-way brook, about one and a half miles west of Glen's Falls, famous for its trout fishery. For origin of name see above. Forge road, 1833. The road leading west from the "Warren county fair grounds, past the Forge pond. Fort George, 1784. " The inhabitant of, annexed to Queensbury." — Town Records. This, as appears elsewhere, was Hugh McAulley who it would seem from the above entry was then the only resident at the head of the lake. The plan of Fort George was marked out by Col. James Montressor, chief engineer on Gen. Amherst's stafi" on the 22d of June, 1759. It was laid out on an elevation situated about six hundred yards south from the head of the lake, and about the same distance easterly from the site of old Fort William Henry. It was known, in colloquial parlance, as Montressor's folly. The only portion of the fort ever fully completed was the south- west bastion. A temporary stockaded post was built, within its protection. Also officers' barracks, soldiers' barracks, guard room, kitchen and store houses. A saw mill in the swamp south-west from the fort, furnished a great portion of the material for these build- ings. An irregular wall to the north-east, whose ruins are still partly visible, enclosed a space devoted to gardening purposes. In 1776 there were erected for hospital use two buildings, one on the flat below the forts, and the other, of considerable dimen- sions, near the former site of Fort William Henry, which were used for the accommodation of the sick from Gen. Schuyler's army then lying at Fort Edward. To these were probably added others sub- sequently, for in the army correspondence of those days, we learn that over three thousand troops were invalided here with the small pox. Among the victims to this terrible scourge, was the 168 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Brigadier General Baron de Woedtke, a Prussian officer of distinc- tion who had espoused the American cause, and whose remains now occupy an unknown grave at Lake George. One of these hospital buildings, was afterwards used as a hotel, and under the name of the long house was known far and wide at the beginning of the present century. The barracks referred to were capable of accomoda- ting one thousand men. At the time it was taken possession of by Burgoyne's advance there were 14 pieces of artillery here, only two of which were mounted. Fountain, the. The idea of a public fountain in connection with the Glen's Falls Water Works, appears to have originated with Mere- /£/iei/iOU PUBLIC FOUNTAIN, GLEN S KAI,LS. dith B. Little, who, in 1872, circulated, and obtained two hundred signatures to a petition to the village trustees, in their capacity of commissioners of the water works, to erect a fountain in the centre NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 169 • of the village, at the expense of the corporation, or its taxable property, which should be both a credit and ornament to the place. This was presented to the board of trustees, who thereupon authorized the said Little to act as a committee to select, and report a design. This was done in the winter of 1872 and '3, and the trustees, acting as commissioners, accepted such plans and estimates and made an appropriation from the proceeds of the sale of water bonds to cover its cost. In the mean time, a new election took place and Mr. Little was chosen one of the new board of trustees. In the spring of 1873 the work was commenced, and being vigorously pushed, was completed about the time of the commencement of sum- mer travel in the month of June following, Messrs. Little and Wm. Wait of the board of trustees acting as committee of construction. It is situated at the central part of the village, near the intersection of Ridge, Warren and Glen streets, and when in full play, is a most conspicuous object of attraction. The diameter of the basin is twenty-one feet, the rim being of iron, the bottom of cement. Its depth is about three feet. The base of the pedestal is of Glen's Falls marble, two and a half feet in height, octagonal, with three projecting buttresses. The fountain proper, with ornaments, is about fifteen feet high above the water level. There are a number of jets, and attachments, which give a pleasing variety to its play. The entire outlay expended in its construction was nineteen hundred dollars. The cost was considerably enhanced by its being built over a nest of five immense cisterns, into which the waste material of the fountain flows, thus creating a large reservoir of water, which can be resorted to in case of any great emergency, such as a fire, or obstruction in the water works. Four corners, the, 1797. By Benjamin Wing's store. The latter occu- pied the site at the bend of the road, in Mr. Henry Crandell's front door yard, near the soldiers' monument. French mountain. An elevation lying partly in the town of Caldwell, but chiefly in the town of Queensbury. It is at its highest point about eighteen hundred feet above tide water. Its northern pro- montory projects several miles into the head of Lake George divid- ing it into two portions. The eastern slopes are arable and cultivated to the summit. The western declivity, with trifling exception, is abrupt, precipitous, rocky and scantily wooded. It is supposed to have received its name from an attack planned and attempted by the French against Fort William Henry in the spring of 1756, in which that mountain was made the base of their operations. Prior to that, as appears by a map in The American Military Pocket Atlas, it was called by the less pretentious name of Gooseberry mountain. 22 170 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Fuller's mill, 1786-94. A saw mill situated on the outlet of the Big pond, below the site of the factory, recently burned. Furnace, the, 1854. Now occupied as a carriage manufactory by the Norriss brothers. It was a business first started by Dwight Hitch- cock as elsewhere recorded. About the date above named it came into the possession of a firm consisting of Stephen Goodspeed, George C. Mott and A. W. Holden, and was continued nearly two years under the firm name of Goodspeed, Mott & Co. Its princi- pal business was making stove castings. Geer's basin. A well known tying up place for boats, in the Glen's Falls feeder at Shermantown. It derives its name from the late Hon. Walter Geer, the former owner of the adjacent property. Glen's Falls Company's lime kilns. Situated about half way between Glen's Falls and Sandy Hill. Very conveniently located on the towing path side of the canal, where the products of the manufactory can be easily shipped on board canal boats. These works have been in operation something more than fifteen years. Glen's Falls feeder. As its name implies, a tributary of the Northern canal. First surveyed about the year 1823, and first dug through, as a big ditch, simply, in 1824. Enlarged from 1828 to '32 in the latter of which years it was first made navigable for canal boats, and became an avenue and thoroughfare of our inland commerce. Glen's Falls Insurance Company's building. The first movement to- ward the formation of an insurance company in Glen's Falls was in 1849, when a number of our more prominent citizens moved in the matter, and without allowing the enterprise to lag from want of energy, pushed it forward to a firm incor- porated basis. The original intent of the movement seems to have been to form a species of local insurance corporation rather than to launch forth upon the broad waves of a grand national enterprise such as the movement has proved to be. We think that none of those who originally moved in the matter ever supposed that they were laying the corner stone of a corporation that within a few years would count its property by the hundreds of thousand dollars and its business by millions, and would make the name of Glen's Falls of household familiarity throughout the Union. The original call for this purpose was signed by those whose names are familiar to us all, some of whom move among us as of yore, while many which were of weight and dignity have passed through the eternal gates and exist to us only as bright spots in the panoramic succession of dear memories. The following were the signers of the original call for the purpose of formation : J. H. Rice, D. G. Harris, E. H. Rosekrans, Abraham Wing, Bethuel Peck, Charles Rockwell, E. S. Vaughn, A. Sherman, E. H. Hopkins, George .H^i-Vi.E^ 'l'.^iL]L^S " CLENSTREET, C L E N S F AL L S. N .Y. ~ ' Thi'x Company was orf/aniy.ed under t/ie corporate nam£ of thr Dividentl Mutual Jnxuraurr Onnpany May /"'IS'tO After IS years of most sure frss fill husmexs ft wax May 1"^ IHC-t refiij/oiiizcd «« iht' johit slnrk plan Mith o rash rapilal of $100,000. to which m January ISOr was akdcil S JIIO HOI) fasli The biixiiicss of llu- I'oinpai^, . has hern grtunfJv succexxf'ul ft haoHq hcsirhx />,v t'upiialof S IHIO.IIOO Sia-pltix assets ninountiit^to 'i7S.000_ Mnkiu<, n totnt of ^i 57:000 TLe [trpsful offixers aj'e B.M;. LITTLE. Piesidrut JEIlOSre LAPBA-M Treas. ACOrsTCS SilEKMJWf.Virc Pres. A.rfEWTOtf LdCins.Scfv. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 171 Cronkhite, A. N. Cheney, D. McNiel, Billy J. Clark, J. G. Havi- land, L. B. Barnes, James Hurley, J. B. Cool, W. S. Carpenter, H. R. Wing, D. H. Cowles, John H. Walker, J. S. Ferine. In this same year (1849) the company became formed and incor^ porated under the provisions of an act of the New York state legislature, assuming the name of the Glen's Falls Dividend Mutual Insurance Company, and on the 15th day of February, 1850, a meeting was held and the following were elected as the first board of directors of the company : F. D. Hodgeman, E. H. Rosekrans, Thos. Archibald, Charles Rockwell, Stephen Goodman, Bethuel Peck, William Cronkhite, Albert N. Cheney, Pelatiah Richards, L. B. Barnes, Abraham Wing, William H. Wells, Billy J. Clark. Following close upon their election the board of directors held a regular business session on the 4th of March of this same year, when the following were elected first officers of the company : President — Bethuel Peck. Vice President — ■ Pelatiah Richards. Secretary — R. M. Little, (a) Treasurer — A. N. Cheney. Attorney — E. H. Rosekrans. The company now formed and in a condition for the prosecution of business, commenced its official labors in a single room of the old Exchange building, corner of Glen and Exchange streets, removing some time thereafter to a single room on the second floor of the old {a) Russell M. Little was bora in Peru, Berksliire county, Mass., December 26tli, 1808. His education was acquired at Wilbraliam Seminary in the same state. In the year 1827, being then only nineteen years of age, he left this insti- tution, to enter upon the arduous and laboi'ious duties and responsibilities attached to the position of minister in the Methodist Episcopal church of which denomina- tion he has ever since been an active, zealous and efficient member. For twelve years Mr. Little continued to officiate with great success, until, in 1839, his health broke down from over work, and he was forced to retire from active ministerial duties. Soon after this, he embarked in mercantile pursuits which were followed for several years with his accustomed energy, industry and success. He then entered upon his insurance career, acting as local agent for foreign companies until the year 1849, when he organized the Glen's Falls Dividend Mutual Insurance Com- pany, of which he was elected secretary, which office included the duties of gene- ral agent, manager, adj uster, and all that was active connected with the entire business. The history of this organization is one of uninterrupted prosperity, due in great measure to the well known probity and faithfulness of its executive officer. The result was exhibited, after an unprecedented career of fifteen years, and paying over two hundred thousand dollars in losses, in a cash accumulation of ninety-five thou- sand dollars, besides paying all expenses including the purchase of a lot and the 172 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. D. H. Cowles & Co.'s building, corner Warren and Ridge streets, until finding a permanent home in its own commodious building on Glen street, wbieh it at present occupies. The building, which is the property of the company, has twice been enlarged to meet the requirements of the constantly increasing business which has ac- companied its increase of years. During the early years of this company, while in its swaddling clothes, the transaction of its busi- ness was not necessarily diifused into the hands of as extensive a erection of a building,' and without making a single assessment upon its policy holders. These results seem something wonderful in the light of our recent experience in regard to insurance companies. In the fall of 1861, when the rebellion had reached its most formidable propor- tions, and even our national existence was jeopardized, when good, true and strong men of all parties, rallied together for the support of the common cause and the protection of the common interests, Mr. Little was chosen as standard bearer of the republican party in the sixteenth senatorial district of New York (consisting of Clinton, Essex and Warren counties) ; was elected senator by a triumphant majority, and served through the sessions of '62 and '3, with distinguished ability. Although he might have looked forward to further political preferment with great confidence, from his wide popularity, and the prestige of success which has characterized his whole career, yet he has repeatedly declined entering the politi- cal arena, preferring the even tenor of his professional pursuits, to the hot escit- ments, and paroxysmal industries of a public life. " The general disaster which had overtaken mutual companies, and the growing prejudice against them, was readily appreciated by Mr. Little, and early in 1864, he proposed the reorganization of the Dividend Mutital into a joint stock company, with a paid up capital of $100,000. It is pretty strong evidence of the confidence of the public in the subject of tliis sketch, that in those days, when fortunes were counted in thousands instead of millions, he was able to raise the required capital (all cash and paid up), in the space of a few weeks ; and the organization of the Glen's Falls Insurance Company was perfected, Mr. Little being again chosen secretary." So prosperous and successful was the new company, that three years later its capital stock was doubled, and, in compliment to his efforts, the board of directors elected him to the presidency of the institution. In all his varied relations to the company, his duties have been always arduous, frequently perplexing, difficult and harassing, while his industry has been per- sistent and unremitting, and his tact, address, and shrewd management, simply something wonderful. Gentle, amiable, and unobtrusive in manner, kind, courteous and considerate of the feelings of others, Mr. Little is the model of a Christian gentleman, beloved at home, honored and respected abroad. Although he has attained an age when most men are willing to retire from the active struggles and conflicts of life, Mr. Little, with his wonted energy and perseverance, by night and by day, through sunshine and storm, in winter and summer, is constantly pusliing or guarding the interests of the comjmny into which his life has been woven, and in whose service it is slowly wearing out. > This sketch is copied almost verbatim from an article published in the Insurance Age, July, 1873. KEY. AND HON. R. M. LITTLE. 174 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. corps of assistants as at present, and many of our citizens will re- call the fact that for some years the secretary (now president) was " boss and all hands," not only transacting all the inside work but the outside business as well. Even after the name of the Glen's Falls Dividend Mutual Insurance Company had become well and favorably known over a large extent of territory as an honorable and efl&cient corporation, the whole ojB&ce work was done by the secretary and one clerk, and that with the accommodations and palatial surroundings of oflGice furniture which would not have brought twenty-five dollars in the market. As a special item of interest, we append here, a list of those who have, from time to time, since the formation of the company, been connected with it in the capacity of Directors, up to the present time, placing those who are of the existing Board in italics, and a review of these names will recall to the minds of all who have had an acquaintance of length in Glen's Falls, potent reminiscences of men of industry, wealth and influence. D. H. Cowles, Hermon Peck, Lewis Hunt, Alexander Robertson, Joseph Parry, Geo. Clendon, S. B. Lee, T. S. Gray, 0. Cronkhite, Jas. W. Schenck, Alonzo W. Morgan, Thos. Potter, Isaac J. Davis, Walter Phelps Jr., John Alden, D. G. Roberts, F. A. Johnson, Jr., 0. Richards, Jerome Lapham, B. F. Bancroft, Charles Fowler, Augustus Sher- man, J. C Greene, E. Andrews, M. W. Fish, H. S. Rankin, F. 0. Burhans, H. R. Wing, Asahel Wing, Jas. Morgan, (a) Isaac G. Parker, R. M. Little, Stephen Brown, Ruliff Kipp, Sam'l Pruyn, («) James Morgan was born in the town of Bolton, Warren county, N. Y., on the 34tli of August, 1814, he being a babe of a few weeks old when his father, with the other members of Capt. Pliny Pierce's company, was summoned to the northern frontier to join in the brilliant campaign where the raw militia of northern New York achieved that signal victory ever famous in history as the battle of Plattsburgh. The Morgans were of Welch extraction, the ancestors, according to family tra- dition havino- immigrated to this country about the middle of the seventeenth century. The name signifies sea born. They were of that fierce, wild and hardy^ Celtic stock who through centuries repelled both Saxon and Norman subjugation ; and whose adventurous and hardy mariners were a terror to the northern seas, and anticipated by two centuries the discovery of America by Columbus. The father Jonah Morgan, one of eleven children, removed from Nine Partners, Dutchess county, N. Y., and settled on Barton hill in the town of Bolton, then a young and thriving township. Here he purchased a farm, and in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture passed a long and uneventful life. He married for his second wife Sally, daughter of Neheraiali and Hannah Brown of the same neigh- borhood, by whom he had a family of nine children, of whom James was third in the order of birth. Participating in scant degree in the limited opportunities furnished by forest hamlets for an education, we find him at the early age of eighteen, launched upon the career of life, working at farm labor for the small pittance of eight dollars a month. With the same sturdy purpose and iudomita- (Knuj NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 175 A. J. Pearsall, T. S. Coolidge, J. L. Cunningham, Harvey Brown, M. B. Little, Jos. Fowler, E. Alliger, D. C. Eolman, Jos. E. King, W. A. Wait, John A. Sheldon. The Dividend Mutual did a most successful business for fifteen years, never having made an assessment on its premium notes, pay- ble will which overcame in later life so many obstacles, he aimed early for that honest independence which honorable industry and steadfast perseverance are so sure to bring, and win for their followers. In 1834 he removed to Glen's Falls, where he was first employed on what is now known as the old Cheney mill, of which he has since been many years a proprietor. Subsequently he found employment in the old lath mill on this side the river. In these pursuits he worked out his apprenticeship in that business of which in his later years he became so rare and energetic a director ; and in whose small details and minor economies he so familiarized himself as to amass in a short period a splendid fortune, when others, with perhaps equal sagacity, might have impoverished or squandered an estate. In 1837 or '8 he bought the well known grocery stand on the site now occupied by Mrs. Ferguson, where for two years he carried on a thriving business. From thence he removed to the stand now covered by the spacious mercantile establishment of Messrs. Coolidge & Lee, where, with increased facilities for trade, a large and remunerative business connection was established. About this time he embarked in lumber operations, whose gradual extensions, enlargements and combinations finally reached the amazing proportions of one of, if not the largest lumbering manufacturing esta- blishment on the Hudson river, and, at the time of his death, the business had become so expanded that two years' stock of logs, equivalent to two large fortunes, were constantly afloat on the Hudson and its wilderness tributaries, and four large gang mills, with all the modern improvements for economizing labor and material, were constantly in operation, with two sets of employees, night and day, during the period of canal navigation, or about two-thirds of the year. Mr. Morgan's eminent success and large wealth has latterly led to his connec- tion with other monetary and manufacturing interests, and he was a large ovnier and stockholder, with a controlling voice in the management of the Morgan Lime Company and the Glen's Falls Paper Mill, both of which industries are situated on the south side of the river. An unfortunate infirmity of deafnes^no doubt contributed largely to isolate Mr. Morgan from his fellow men, as also from participating as largely in public affairs as most men possessing a tithe of his rare business abilities, energy and persever- ance. Beneath a superficial crust of reserve, Mr. Morgan concealed a kind heart and genial disposition ; and the same disposition which made him a bitter and unrelenting opponent made him a sincere and earnest friend and counselor. Among the laboring men, few employers were better liked than he. He married about the first of October in the fall of 1841 Olivia, daughter of the late Martin Eastwood, Esq. She, with two daughters, survive to lament and deplore his loss. His death, which occurred on the night or rather early morning of Friday the Ist of August, 1873, was sudden, mysterious and horrible. Being aroused in the night by some passer by, with the intelligence that his horses were making a disturbance at his barn, he arose and dressed, took a kerosene lantern, and went to the barn. That was the last he was seen alive. In less than half an hour an alarm of fire was given, and the barn was found in a bright blaze, and when the building was burned down, his charred remains were found lying beneath one of the dead horses. How or why he came to his death will doubtless always be enveloped in dread doubt and uncertainty. 176 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. ing over $200,000 in losses, and accumulating a cash surplus of over $95,000, not deducting for reinsurance of outstanding risks, or providing for losses which might occur upon them. Consider- ing the nominal character of its rates, this result, looked at in the present light of the fire fiend, seems wonderful. As one after another of the State Mutuals sunk under reckless or dishonest management and went down in disgrace and dishonor, the Grlen's Falls Insurance Company stood almost alone as a con- spicuous monument among the ruins, but the general disaster which had overtaken these companies, and the growing prejudice against them was readily appreciated, and in 1864 it was proposed to re- organize the Dividend Mutual into a Joint Stock Company, with a paid up capital of $100,000. By an act of the legislature the company was reorganized, the policyholders being ofiPered an opportunity to subscribe to the capital stock pro rata according to payments made by them to the company. In most cases these privileges were bought up at a premium, and it is pretty good evi- dence of the confidence of the public in the management of the company that double the amount of the needed one hundred thou- sand dollars was subscribed, necessitating a second pro rating. The company was called the Glen's Falls Insurance Company and succeeded to the good will, reputation and business of the mutual organization. The business of the re-organized company extended so rapidly that in 1867, its capital was increased by actual payment to $200,000 and the company assumed its place among the important and well-known companies of the State. Since the formation of this company the following have held the principal offices named and in the order in which their names occur : Presidents — Bethuel Peck, Pelatiah Richards, A. W. Morgna and R. M. Little. Secretaries — R. M. Little, A. N. Locke and J, L. Cunningham. Treasurers — A. N. Cheeney, F. A. Johnson Jr., Alex. Robert- son, Jerome Lapham and F. A. Johnson. At the present writing the existing officers of the company are as follows : President — R. M. Little. Vice-President — A. Sherman. Secretary — J. L. Cunningham. AssH Secretary — G. B. Greenslet. Treasurer — F. A. Johnson. Attorney — Stephen Brown. Gen'l A(jents — R. A. Little, Eastern States ; Sam'l R. House, Ohio ; Brown and Hobbins, Western States. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 177 The company have nearly four hundred agents scattered through the states of New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri, half of which number are in the state of New York. Its present available assets foot over 8630,000 and its net surplus over every liability excepting capital is over $319,000. It has paid over one million dollars in losses and has received nearly two million dollars in premiums. Its policies cover over sixty millions of dollars. Prudence and firmness have ever been the predominating traits of this sound old company, its risks have been carefully selected and a powerful resistance always opposed to fraud. Glen House. A hotel, built (on the site of a tavern previously burned), and owned and kept by Henry Spencer, Esq., formerly sheriff of Warren county. It stood on the site adjoining, on the north, Peter Lapoint's saloon ^under the hill. It was burned in 1867, it being then occupied as a hotel by Russell Barber. Glen's Falls Opera House. An elegant, costly and spacious structure, erected in the summer of 1871, by the Messrs. Coffins and Lasher of this place, on the old Daniel Peck estate, adjoining the grounds of the Presbyterian church on the west, and fronting on Warren street. Its front on the street is occupied by the village post office and stores; the second story is devoted to offices, while the third contains two large halls elegantly furnished, and occupied by a large division of the Sons of Temperance, and a flourishing lodge of Good Templars. The Opera House proper extends back in the rear, and has besides the usual stage, scenery, etc., conveniences for parties and festivals. It has a seating capacity of sixteen hundred. Glenville. The earlier books of travel occasionally refer to the village of Glen's Falls under this name. I have also met with it in manu- scripts connected with the early history of the town. Great bay, the, 1812. The Big bay. Elsewhere described. Green island, 1798. An island in Lake George. Griffin and Austin's mill, 1826. A saw-mill on the outlet of the Big pond. Guard lock, the. The lock at the head of the Glen's Falls feeder. Halp-way brook. A stream famous in border annals, deriving its name from the fact that it was about midway between the two great military posts at Fort Edward and Lake George. It rises in the Luzerne mountains, west of Glen's Falls, and running a tortuous but generally easterly course, receiving the waters of many small tributaries on the w;iy, it empties into Wood creek in the town of 23 178 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Fort Ann, Washington county, N. Y. It was the scene of many sanguinary skirmishes, and engagements, during the French war, in consequence of which it was called Bloody brook by some of the provincial soldiers, — Life of John Stark, and Robert Rogers. It is designated as Scoune creek on a map of a grant and survey made to Kobert Harpur, on file in the secretary of state's office. It is mentioned in Knox's Military Journal as Seven mile creek, it being about seven miles distant from the head of the lake. On a map published in Wilson's Orr/er/y i?ooA; of Amherst's Expedition in 1759, it is laid down as Shone creek. Half-way House. A famous hotel situated near the upper toll gate, noted for its hospitality and fare. Its proprietor is George Brown, a lineal descendant of Benedick Brown, one of the pioneers who settled in the town prior to the Revolutionary war. Hammon's, Thomas, store, 1808. At the Oneida, which see. .Harrisena, 1818. All that portion of the town pf Queensbury north and east of the bounds of the original patent; deriving this appellation from the numerous families bearing the name of Harris who settled in that neighborhood. Harris's bay, 1808. South eastern extremity of Lake George. Here, as tradition hath it, Old Bill Harris meted out border justice to eight Indians who had been dispatched by their tribe to waylay and kill him in revenge for some of his many ruthless acts, for if half that is told of him be true, he had as little compunction in killing an Indian, as in shooting a wolf. These Indians had been lurking in the swamps and woods of the neighborhood for some days, patiently waiting their opportunity for his capture. Finally he learned, either by observation or through the kind offices of a neighbor, that they were all out on the lake fishing. He im- mediately hurried around the neighborhood and borrowed of his friends their muskets or rifles to the number of eight, which, having loaded, he secreted them behind a log on the lake shore. He then • . . . . exhibited himself to them with derisive and contemptuous gestures, when they all made for the shore to take him. As they came within range he deliberately shot one after the other till they were all killed. He was naturally taciturn and stern. When afterwards asked what he had done with the bodies, he took a fish and plunging a sharp pointed knife through its air-bladder flung it into the lake, into whose clear depths it settled like a stone. It was the popular belief that he had served the Indians the same way. After this, he was not molested, the Indians reaching the conclusion that he bore a charmed life. Haviland's, Abraham, blacksmith shop, 1795. On the site now covered by George Ferguson's store, opposite the soldiers' monument. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 179 Haviland's, Roger, house, 1795. An old fashioned story and a half farm house originally built by John Eddy, who afterwards removed to Fort Edward. It stood, facing South street, at the turn of the road leading to the big dam. It was burned about the year 1858. It was old Roger referred to in the above extract from the town records. He afterwards removed to the Ridge. Hendrick's rock. A large boulder on the hill south-east from Williams' monument, and a short distance north from the upper toll gate. Determined by the late Judge Hay from actual measurement and survey as being the spot where King Hendrick fell in the action known as the Bloody Morning Scout. Hog's back. A spur of the Palmertown range of mountains, at the south- western angle of the town. Around its base, the Hudson river emerges on its eastern course to Sandy Hill. Hotel, Samuel G-. Skinner's, 1816. The Union Hotel elsewhere spoken of, and afterwards burned. It stood near the side walk, on what is now Mr. James C. Finch's door yard. Hull's, Joseph, saw mill, 1826. On the trout brook at the West moun- tain. Hunting hill. A once famous run way for deer, and resort for other game. It is the hill immediately back of the Gurney and Robison place. It is now cultivated nearly, if not quite to its summit. Island, by the river bridge, 1795. This entry in the town records es- tablishes the fact of the existence of a bridge across the river at that early date. The island was once known as Wing's island. A few years after a toll bridge was constructed here, and a toll house stood at the upper or west side of the road, which within the author's recollection was used as a tenant house. It was torn down at the time of the erection of the present bridge in 1842. Island, Wing's. On the south side of the river about half a mile above the mills. It is only separated from the main land by a small frith, easily spanned by a plank. Near it is Wing's eddy, both names being retained from the olden times. John's farm, 1777. This term occurs in both the Baron and Madame de Riedesel's Memoirs; applying, as appears from the text, to the clearing about the military post at the Half-way brook. Why the name was given is wholly a matter of conjecture. JoiNTA Lime Kilns. Situated on the berm side of the Grlen's Falls feeder about a mile east from the village centre. The term jointa origin- ated in Rhode Island, being «, name without any especial significa- tion adopted at random to designate an especially excellent quality of lime. It was introduced here by Mr. Harris from Rhode Island about the year 1842, and has gradually came to be in general use. 180 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Jones's John, mill place, 1786. Understood to have been applied origin- ally to the site of Patten's mills. The John Jones' farmhouse, which stood in the edge of Kingsbury was used as a military hos- pital in the Revolution, at the time of Burgoyne's advance. Kettles, Indian. Pot holes worn by the action of water in the flat rock, at the head of Glen's Falls, where the cataract divides. They have been shown to tourists by boys of a speculative turn of mind as kettles where the Indians used to grind their corn. Kimball's tannery at the Ridge. It was located at the foot of the hill east of the present school house. It was in operation in the early part of the present century. Jessup's falls. The Big fall, on the Hudson river about ten miles above Glen's Falls, where the entire volume of water pours over a sheer descent of about seventy feet. Above the fall is what is called " the race " where for a distance of about three hundred yards, the river rushes down a sharp decline, gathering strength and impetus for the final leap. Still higher up is a gorge in the rocks where the river finds passage in a cleft about fourteen feet space. Here le- gend says that one of the Jessups jumped across the river and made his escape at the outbreak of the Revolution from the sheriff of Albany county. Mr. Zina Cowles of our village informs me that he has jumped across the same place. Long pond. Otherwise known as the Big pond. A fine sheet of water visible from the plank road about four miles north of Glen's Falls. It receives the waters of the Meadow run. Rocky brook and Brown's pond. At its western extremity is a large peat bed, which has been partially worked, and which is elsewhere referred to. McDonald's, William, store, 1821. An old fashioned country store standing on the east side and angle of the Ridge road opposite the Gould Sanford place, at the Ridge. Mallory's, John, inn, 1802. The old building still standing on the east side of the plank road just outside of the corporation limits, at the corner of what in the old surveys is called the new road. Meadow run brook, the, 1808. So called because of a large beaver meadow upon it, whence the first settlers obtained their sup- plies of hay. Elsewhere described as Four mile creek, and Five mile run. Moon's mills, 1808. A saw mill and grist mill on the outlet of the Long pond. Some of the timbers and sub-structure of the grist- mill are still to be seen near the bridge at the road crossing, a little below John P. Coffin's establishment. The saw mill is understood to have been situated immediately at the embouchure of the pond. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 181 Mount Defiance. At the outlet of Lake George. Taken possession of by Burgoyne's Engineer Corps at the time of liis advance, thus com- pelling an evacuation by the American forces under General St. Clair, of the important military post of Ticonderoga. On a map dated 1762, published in the American Military Pocket Atlas, it is laid down as Sugar bush mountain. NoRTH-west bay on Lake George, In a collection of military maps rela- ting to North America, and bearing the date of 1762, it is laid down as the North arm, and in another place as Cankusker bay. Nichol's saw mill, 1824-35. On a wing-dam on the Hudson river below Little bay. Nichol's grist mill, 1826. Supposed to have been situated at the same place as the above. Norman's bay, 1837. One of the southern extremities of Lake George, projecting into the town of Queensbury. Oak hollow, the, 1812. At the great bay on the river about four miles above the village. Odell's mill, 1808. A saw mill situated on the outlet of the Big pond north of the Oneida. Ogden's mill, 1823. A saw mill at the mouth of the Ogden brook near the Big bay. Oneida village, The, 1818. \ A settlement on the Ridge road about Oneida, The, 1825. J five miles north of Glen's Falls. Elsewhere fully described. It derived its name from Tom Hammond, a half- breed Oneida Indian, who kept a store here, prior to, and during the last war with Great Britian. Osborne's store, 1797. A country store at Sanford's ridge. It stood on the west side of the road, a little north of Joseph Haviland's corner. Patten's, Edward, mill. A sa\fr mill still bearing that name on the Half-way brook just beyond the Queensbury town line. Pearl village 1813. ") A persistent attempt, for the space of about Pearlville, 1808. J twenty years and dating back to the beginning of the century, was made to fasten the name of Pearlville upon this thriving settlement. The name occurs frequently in the manu- script records on file in the town clerk's office. Pease's distillery. An establishment which stood about the year 1808-10, on a small stream at the rear of Mr. Duncan McGregor's house, and on his premises, and which, if tradition be true, had plenty of business and patronage. Pease came here from Poultney, Vt., and also carried on a tavern, subsequently burned, which stood on the site where Henry Spencer's Glen House was afterwards erected, just above Peter La Point's grocery and saloon. 182 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Peer's tavern, 1826. A wayside inn, which stood on the site now occu- pied by Wm. Miller's residence on the plank road, two miles north of the village. Pettit's, Micajah, mill, 1802. A saw mill, occupying the site of the Glen's Falls Company's stone saw mill, near the river bridge, on the west of the road. Pettit's store, 1793. A small wooden structure still standing directly in the rear of the old stone store under the hill. His house where he lived, certainly in comfort, and as tradition states in considerable style, and elegance, was the old double roomed tenant house ad- joining. Both of these buildings have just been torn down. Phelps's bay. Middle bay at the south-eastern extremity of Lake George. On its shores near Phelps's landing is situated the Phelps house, one of the many attractive and homelike resorts of tourists and travelers, which help to give a charm to that most delightful of all places of summer flitting, namely. Lake George. ^Pitcher tavern, the, 1847. Several places have borne this name, par- ticularly the old log tavern at the Half-way brook, where Jonathan Pitcher kept a place of entertainment. The place referred to in the above quotation, is the old tavern stand at the Oneida, then kept by Dewitt C. Pitcher. Pitcher's, Alfred, new dwelling house, 1811. The residence now occu- pied by Philemon Murray about five milles from the village, on the road leading to Jessup's falls. Plains, Pine, the. A term generally applied to all that portion of Queens- bury west of the plank road. Plumb's landing, 1808. On the south-eastern extremity of Lake George. Pond, the Big. Elsewhere explained. The name is interchangeable with Long pond, both being applicable to the same sheet. Pond, the Little, 1799. | Referring to a pond previously spoken of, Pond, the Round, 1831. J emptying into the Big pond, and lying near the cross road, leading from the Bay road to the plank. Pond, Brown's, on map of Warren county. The same as above. Price road, the old, 1826. What is now known as the Clendon road, or the new road to Luzerne. Quaker meeting house, 1787. A log structure just south of the Half- way brook on the Bay road. Quarries, the. A term applied in general to the ledges of limestone on the north bank of the river, which are being worked for building, paving and ornamental purposes. Reed's meadow creek, 1798, 1808. The outlet of the Big Cedar swamp, on the eastern borders of the town. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 183 Reefs, the. A reacli in the Hudson river above Little bay a mile or more in extent, filled with rocks, and rapids. Near the old town line on the west. Richards, Edmund B., the house of, 1835. The American hotel now owned by George Pardo, corner of South and Glen streets. The house since Richards's time has been greatly enlarged and im- proved. RiCHARDs's steam mill. A large steam saw mill situated on the Glen's Falls feeder about two miles east from Glen's Falls. Road, the, " by the meeting house and Daniel Hull's, 1788." This refers to the Bay road then but recently opened. Road, the, "that is laid up and down the river by Ferrisses mills, thence on to the bridge, and to the island," 1795. This quotation from the town records, shows the existence of a bridge over the river at the date mentioned, and that the road, instead of leading directly down the hill, turned at the foot of the long hill and struck the river near the bulk head. Rock, the Great, 1798. A huge boulder lying near the south line of what was then known as Abraham Tucker's farm. THE KOCKWELL HOUSE. Rockwell House. The site on which this attractive, and elegant struc- ture stands, has been occupied for hotel purposes since the com- mencement of the present century. 184 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. The first building on this spot was erected by John A. Ferriss, in 1802, the first purchase towards which, was " a cent's worth of chalk." Various landlords have tried their fortunes here, but none of them have been more eminent in this way than Peter D. Threehouse, who built up for the house a deservedly famous repu- tation among the traveling public. Among his successors were Rogers & Brown, Richard W. Higby, A. B. Tubbs and Wait S. Carpenter. The latter finally purchased the establishment, tore down the old building and erected a large, plain brick building, in the fall and winter of 1852-3. This was burned down in the great conflagration of 1864, and Mr. Carpenter removing from the place the ground for several years laid 'idle. At length, in the year 1869, under the apprehension that a row of stores was to be erected on this eligible place, a number of gentlemen associated together for its purchase, contributing the sum of fifteen thousand four hundred dollars thereto. It was then ofi"ered to any person or firm, who would undertake the responsibility of erecting a hotel which would be a credit to the place. This was undertaken by Messrs. H. J. & Geo. H. Rockwell, in the early spring of 1871, and all agree that the pledge has been nobly redeemed. The building, a view of which is given herewith, was commenced on the 26th of March, 1871, and completed on the 31st of January, 1872. Opened for business on the 12th, a general opening or in- fair being held on the 22d of February, following. The building in front is four stories in height, with a mansard roof and Swiss towers. It is one hundred feet in length and forty-five feet deep. An L, projecting in the rear, is one hundred and forty feet long, forty feet wide and three stories high. There are several parlors, seventy-two sleeping rooms, and a capacity for one hundred and fifty guests. The number of employees, when the house is filled, is thirty-seven. The cost of the house in round numbers is stated at sixty thousand dollars, and of the furniture, which was purchased in Boston, twenty thousand dollars. The crockery and silver ware was purchased in Albany and the carpets in the city of New York, The iron work used in the construction of the building was fur- nished by the American Corrugated Iron Company of Springfield, Mass. There are spacious pleasure grounds in the rear and all the modern conveniences, which help to make a public house homelike and comfortable. The architect was M. F. Cummings of Troy. Messrs. Krum & Adams were the carpenters. Messrs. Holman & Pike the masons who laid the brick work, Mr. James Camp, the stone work ; puinter and glazier S. P. Jackman. The proprietors are Messrs. 11. J. & C. L. Rockwell, and the universal testimony is that there is not a better kept house in the country. Many city NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 185 people prefer its orderly system, quiet and elegant comfort, to the whirl and confusion of the fashionable watering places. Roll way, the. A point on the canal, near the west bounds of the cor- poration. In the olden time, logs were floated down the canal, and at this point, by simple machinery were taken out, and rolled into the river, to supply the mills on the north side. Sand beach, the. A place in the river just below the Glen's Falls Com- pany's quarries, where, in the olden time there was a rough fording place across the river. The southern terminus of the ford was near the upper corner of the paper mill. Sanford's ashery, 1810. A little east of the Ridge road, and nearly opposite the old Benny Wells homestead. It was established in the early daysofthesettlement by David Sanford, whoafterwards sold out his interest both in the store at the Ridge and the ashery to John H. Hitchcock. Sanford's ridge, 1799, 1844. Name derived from David Sanford, an early settler, and man of wide influence and general esteem. ScouNE creek, 1772. One of the names of the Half-way brook, which see. Scribner's, Thomas, mill, 1786. Conjectured to have been on the outlet of the Big pond. Shelden's bay. At the south-eastern extremity of Lake George. Shermantown. A hamlet which has sprung up around Sherman's lime kilns, at Geer's basin on the feeder, about a mile east of the village. Dependent chiefly for its existence upon the lime business, named from the proprietor of the lime kilns, Mr. Darwin E. Sherman. Stevenson's, Marmaduke, tavern 1815. Opposite the William Miller place, on the plank road, two miles north of Glen's Falls village. Stower's mill, 1824. A saw mill situated on the Meadow run, and owned by Dr. Asa Stower. Sugar loaf mountain, 1798. A bold acclivity some 800 feet in height, situated on the east line of the town at Harrisena. Swamp, the Big Cedar, 1817. A swamp about three miles long and nearly one mile in width, extending from the eastern boundaries of the corporation to the eastern limits of the town. The Clendon brook. A sparkling trout stream, having its sources in the West mountain, and after passing through the Clendon farm, running southerly across the plains, and emptying into the Hudson at Little bay. Threehouse and Thurston's inn, 1826. The old Glen's Falls Hotel which stood on the site of the Rockwell house. 24 186 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. The Corners. A common term applied to the settlement at Glen's Falls, the latter part of last century. TiLLPORD place. The homestead of the Tillford family, opposite the Wil- liam Miller place on the plank road, two miles north of the village. Tillotson's ferry, 1823. A ferry formerly established by David Tillot- son, across the Hudson river at Big bay. This was at a period of considerable business activity at that place, where large quantities of lumber which had been manufactured at various points above, was floated down in cribs, taken out here, transported across to Fort Edward, and thence rafted to market. Trout brook, " now commonly so called," 1816. The Clendon brook. Tubes, A. B. The house of, 1839. The old Glen's Falls Hotel. Turnpike, the, leading to Luzerne, 1847. It is now known as West street and its extension, crossing the mountain at the West church. Union Hotel, site of, " recently destroyed by fire," 1846. It stood well up to the side walk, in front of Mrs. James C. Finch's residence. It was a spacious, two story building, well conducted, and was in its day. a formidable competitor for the patronage of the traveling public. Van Duzen's mills, 1853. A large and extensive lumber manufacturing establishment, at the north end of the big dam, founded and still carried on by Col. Zenas Van Duzen, one of the heaviest operators in this section. Van Kleeck's store, 1802. A small mercantile concern conducted by Lawrence I. Van Kleeck, a lawyer, and man of considerable ability. The store stood on the site now occupied by William Cronkhite & Son. Van Wormer's bay, 1799. A projection of the head of Lake George at its south-eastern extremity. On a map in the State library at Albany, bearing the title of " a particular plan of Lake George, surveyed in 1756, by Capt. Jackson," the bay is represented as opening into the east side of the lake opposite Long Island. It is here mentioned as " the South arm, or Takundawide bay." Vaughn's, David, tavern, 1841. Opposite George Brown's Half-way house, on the south-west corner of the cross road leading to the Oneida. It was previously known as the widow Buck's. Westfield, to the line of, 1808 The name of Westfield was, about the date above named, changed to Fort Ann. Wild Cat swamp, the, 1821. A tract of low swampy land stretching from the western boundaries of the village, a distance of a mile, nearly, each way, to the pine plains It was, as its name indicates, the covert and resort of wild beasts of prey. Traditions are still rehearsed of the troops of wolves that once issued from its tangled reces.ses, making merciless havoc among the farmers' stock, of our thinly settled western borders. NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 187 Willbur's, Job, mill, 1785. Supposed to have been located at the mouth of the Cold brook, near the town line, and about half a mile above Sandy Hill. Wing's basin, 1838. A natural bayou on the feeder, at the foot of Basin street, created by the emptying in of the waters of a small brook rising on the Haviland farm, and running through the Cheney woods. Wing's, Benjamin, store, 1798. It stood adjoining the side walk, at the north end of Mr. Henry Crandell's lot, near the soldiers* monu- ment. Wing's, D. W., house of entertainment, 1803, 4, 5. At Wing's Corners. It stood on the site of Cowles & Co.'s store. Wing's Falls. The original name of Glen's Falls. How and why the name came to be changed is elsewhere explained. This was the common name up to the commencement of the present century. Williams's rock. A huge boulder lying in a field west of the plank road, a few rods north of the Queensbury town line, and a little below the old stage route leading to Lake George. The place is commemorated by popular tradition, as the scene of Col. Ephraim Williams's death. Elsewhere fully described. CHURCHES OF QUEENSBURY. THE BAPTIST CHURCH. APTISTS were among the earlier inhabitants of this town and have always formed a considerable element of its population. It has been impossible to obtain all the facts requisite to a complete record of their several organizations. In some instances the minutes have been destroyed by fire ; in others, they have been removed beyond reach, or lost through carelessness and indiiference ; while, with one or two exceptions, those who could have fur- nished reliable information concerning the annals of this de- nomination, are now numbered witJi the dead. So far as can be ascertained, the Baptists of Queensbury are, and have been of that class, distinguished as regular, or close communion Baptists. By diligent, and patient research, and investigation, we are enabled to present the following historic record, concerning them. Until the year 1795, it is believed that no effort had been made to organize a church within the limits of this town. On the south side of the river, which was then embraced in the town of Saratoga, a society had been formed on the 19th of August, 1794, over which, according to existing records, Elder Calvin Hulbert presided as pastor for a number of years. Among its members were some residing at what is known as the Big bend of the Hudson river, four miles west of the village of Glen's Falls, and it is quite possible that some of the number were resident on the Queensbury side of the river. At the eastward a number of Baptist families were among the earliest settlers, by whom a society was organized at Kings- bury street in 1797, with Elder Ebenezer Willoughby as pastor. This was connected with the Vermont Baptist Association, formed at Manchester, Vt,, in 1780 ; and which met at Middle- town, Vt., October 4th, 1797, as shown by existing printed minutes. At the northeast, in the town of Westfield, a church had been built up as early as 1789, under the pastoral care of THE CHURCHES. 189 Elder Sherman Babcock. This is now designated as the First Baptist church of Fort Ann; its place of meeting being at Comstock's landing. Being thus surrounded on three sides, as it were, by Baptist influences, it is nothing surprising that the town of Queensbury should have had a plentiful leaven of that element among its inhabitants at an early day. From this small beginning, an outgrowth of four distinct churches has been developed in process of time, each of which have had a separate house of worship, in three distinct localities, at distances of five or six miles apart. For convenience of re- ference these might be classified as follows ; viz. 1st, The Baptist church at the Round pond. 2d, The First Queensbury, or Oneida church. 3d, The Second Queensbury, or West mountain church. 4th, The Baptist church of Glen's Falls. Of each of these, the following account may be relied upon as being substantially correct. THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT THE ROUND POND. The Round pond is one of those innumerable sheets of water which gem the surface of northern New York. It is small in extent, without visible inlet or outlet, nestled in among the verdant hills, whose once dense growth of pines were luminous with its sheen. Here, on its very verge was erected a humble structure of logs, which served as a school house through the week, and, as a place of worship on the Lord's day. Here for a number of years assembled and worshipped the oldest organ- ization of Baptists in the town. It was never connected, that we can learn, with any association, hence its statistics are meagre, and its history traditionary. It was founded and sustained chiefly by the untiring labors of Elder Rufus Bates,^ and it was ' The facts embraced in this narrative, were chiefly obtained from Aunt Clara Harris, relict of William Harris, and a daughter of Elder Bates. In an interview with the author, who was accompanied by the Rev. Stephen Wright, in June, 1868 she communicated all that a remarkably clear, and retentive memory could furnish 190 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. commonly known as Elder Bates's Church. Among the early- settlers, he found a few kindred spirits, with whom he occa- sionally improved his gift as a speaker. Elder Hezekiah Eastman of Danby, Vt., while on a mission- ary tour, about the year 1795, immersed several converts in the Half-way brook. During the same year the log church ah'eady mentioned, was erected on the southerly shore of ttPe Round pond, about five miles north of Glen's Falls, and was surrounded by a little clump of pines, through whose clustering needles, the summer breezes, and the fierce blasts of winter ehant the requiem of the dead in the little burying ground across the way. Here in this sequestered and yet romantic spot was built up the rude sanctuary of a rustic and peaceful community. The society was formally organized in 1796, and its pastor received his or- dination at the hands of such men as Elders Amasa Brown of Hartford, and Sylvanus Haynes of Middletown, Vt. A wide field of usefulness and labor was at once opened up to him, calling for the best improvement and exercise of his talent and industry in the moral harvest field around him. His parish extended far and wide, embracing Harrisena on the north, WestFort Annon the east, stretching along to the sparsely settled wilds of Dresden ; while Bolton and Caldwell on the west and northwest; and Durkeetown,' then in Argyle, at the southeast, in point relating to the history of this church. A son of the elder, Cornell Am- brose Bates, also living in the north part of the town, at the same interview, assisted in adding his own knowledge and recollections. According to the information then received, Elder Rufus Bates was a son of Ebenezer Bates, of Coventry, R. I., who was a son of Joshua, also a son of Joshua, an original immigrant from England. Elder Rufus was born at Coventry, 23d April, 1753. His wife was Rebecca, the daughter of Abner Goffe, of East Greenwich, R. I. About the year 1776, he removed with his father to Shaftsbury, Vt., where the Baptist church was previously well established, and was there baptized and ad- mitted to its communion. In 1780. he removed to Clarendon, Vt., where, on the 15th of August, 1784, Aunt Clara was born. Here, and in the adjacent town of Ira, Vt., he spent several years, and was licensed to preach. In February, 1794, the fauiily came to Queensbury, and settled near the scene of his future labors, at what is now called Jenkins' mills, east of the Oneida. The elder here raised a family of eight children of whom Cornell, above named, was the youngest. He was born in Queensbury, 9th December, 1804. ' " The first Fort Edward church at Durkeetown, was organized in April, 1833. From 1802 up to 1816, the members in part, at least, who composed this body, were considered members of the Baptist church in Queensbury, and by them were set oflf as a branch with liberty to meet and transact any church business that might come before them. Previous to the organization of this branch the few families holding Baptist sentiments with others, in various parts of the town, THE CHURCHES. 191 were the not infrequent scenes of his labors and ministrations. The total membership of this widely spread missionary field was estimated at something over two hundred, while for his arduous and manifold " works and labor of love " it is believed that he never received as much as one hundred dollars per annum for any one j-ear's work in the ministry. Truly religion in those days was " without money and without price." Elder Bates's church must have wielded an influence for good over this large district, and through his ministry it was held to- gether in the covenant of the gospel for many years. Several persons are still living, who remember to have heard him preach, and though he was wanting in the graces of oratory and the finish of a scholastic education, all bear testimony to the fervor and force of his pulpit efforts and also to the moral purity and excellence of his life and conduct. It is a matter of profound regret that no records or statistics of this church should have been handed down to us. In January, 1808, a terrible calamity befel him. His house, with nearly all its contents, was consumed by fire. His father-in-law, the venerable Abner Groffe, perished in the flames. At the same time all the minutes and records of the church were destroyed. Elder Bates continued to preach until he was about seventy- five years old, when he surrendered the work so well begun, into younger hands. This labor, be it said, was so poorly re- munerated, that in no year of his ministry had he received any- thing like a full support, and like the earlier disciples, he was dependent upon his daily labor for his daily bread. The tranquil evening of his life was protracted to the I9th day of January, 1840, when in. his eighty-seventh year he passed to his eternal reward. His wife had preceded him to the eternal bourne, on the 21st of April, 1836, at the age of seventy-six. Adjacent churches .and congregations soon began to draw largely upon this little fold in the wilderness, and its sustaining head being removed, it began to languish and dwindle away, until about the year 1825, it ceased to have a visible existence. were favored with Baptist preaching occasionally from Elders Clark and Bates, The latter, being the pastor of the Queensbury church, preached a portion of the time to this branch. Meetings were held in barns and private dwellings during this period of time. A most precious revival was enjoyed, and many were added to this infant body." — Washington County Gazetteer, p. 146, by Allen Corey. Published at Greenwich 1849. 192 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. II. THE FIRST QUEENSBURY, OR ONEIDA CHURCH. The interest which built up this congregatiou, origrnated iu a series of meetings held at Dunham's bay, iu the years 1831 and 2. These were instituted by Elder Phineas Culver,^ for a long period pastor of the Fort Ann, and Kingsbury churches, who on a visit to his brother-in-law William Lane, found a few faithful brethren living around the head waters of Lake George. A revival ensued, several were added to the church, and after a period, the meetings were removed to the Vaughn school- house, not far from the present residence of Reuben Seelye, Esq. The meetings were continued here, and in various ad- jacent school houses, until the house of worship at the Oneida was erected. The church organization is here given from their own record book in the following language. " Be it remembered, that on this 13th day of !N"ovember, 1832, the following brethren and sisters met according to previous appointment, and entered into Church Covenant with each other, at the house of William Lane, in Queensbury, viz : James Fuller, Betsey Fuller, Franklin Guilford, Samantha Guilford, Aaron Kidder, Amanda Kidder, Isaac Nelson, Amy Nelson, A. M. Odell, Marian Odell, Eli Pettis, Lucy Pettis, and William Niles." Thirteen persons. It is further recorded that they " adopted, as a brief summary of their faith, the articles of faith and Covenant of the Kings- bury church, while they received the New Testament in common with the Old, as their only rule of faith and practice. Elders ' These meetings were often held in barns, and private dwellings, and occa- sionally in the widely separated school houses. The neighborhood is even yet full of the gossip and anecdotes developed by the sharp and animated rivalry between the brethren of the Baptist persuasion, and the followers of Wesley. One of the latter sect, who itinerated in this region, frequently divided the interest of this neighborhood by holding opposition meetings, and inveighing with peculiar acri- mony against the Calvinistic doctrines, and exclusive notions of the Baptists. On one occasion, Elder Culver, after annihilating his oi)poneut'8 arguments, and holding up his views to a scathing tirade of sarcasm, finally cooled down to a con- THE CHURCHES. 193 "William Grant, and Phineas Culver being present, assisted in the organization, giving them fellowship, and hearty approba- tion, and Elder Culver preached the coustituting sermon." . (Kecord book, p. 1.) Austin M. Odell was chosen clerk, and Aaron Kidder their first deacon, who, with Ansel Winchip, was formally ordained on the 20th of February, 1834. Having no regular pastor, nor house of worship for years, the organization increased but slowly. In September, 1833, they united with the Lake George Baptist Association, which at that time held its 17th anniversary at Hague, Warren county, IST. Y. The Association then re- ported 11 churches, 7 pastors and 988 members in their whole body. While this new interest, of 19 members only, was not identical in organization with Elder Bates's church, it was its successor upon nearly the same territory, and among many of the same people. No doubt some of his flock came into the new church, since it is recorded that Elder Bates and his wife joined by letters from the second Fort Ann church, at Welch hollow at South bay, on the 9th of August, 1834. Although an octogenarian, he was chosen a delegate to the association which met that year at Caldwell. His associates were A. M. Odell, Ansel Winchip, William J^iles, and F. Guilford. The necessities of the people had called for Baptist preaching about this period, and various ministers had come into town, preached and baptized their converts, thereby adding them to their respective churches in adjacent towns. Among this number Elder John C. Holt, of Moreau, had ofliciated here, and in a powerful revival of religion during the years 1832-3, he added about 80 to his church, a large proportion of whom lived in this town, and afterwards helped to swell the ranks of its rising churches. On the west,Elder Stephen Call, pastor of the Luzerne church, made frequent inroads, and baptized converts into his church, who subsequently aided in establishing the West, or Mountain church. During the first four years, there were comparatively few accessions to the church at the Oneida. dition of apparent candor, and Christian charity, and remarked that nothing was created in vain ; that even the Methodists were doing some good by reaching a class that no other denomination could influence ; in short, that they held the same relation to the Christian church, that the swill barrel does to the farmer's kitchen, receiving the rejected offal that was only fit for the hogs. 25 194 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBUEY. In the fall of 1835, there was reported a membership of 35, with Elder John Scofield as pastor, who served in that capacity until the spring of 1837. During his pastorate the house of worship near the Oneida was erected, and although the humble edifice was not entirely finished, the Lake George Association held its twentieth anniversary there on the 7th and 8th of Sep- tember, 1836. The venerable Elder Bates, then 84. years of age, with Elder Scofield, Deacon Ansel Winchip, J. Winchip, and E. Sargeant, were the delegates on that occasion. The meeting was one of unusual interest, and was followed by a revival in which 25 converts were' added, and 18 members joined by letter, thus increasing the membership to 74. Elder Jeremy H. Dwyer assisted the pastor during the season of revival. In the spring of 1838, Marvin Eastwood, who had been reared in the west part of the town, and licensed to preach by the Mountain church, began to labor with this congregation, and on the 11th of September following, was ordained to the ministry. A revival soon followed, and by the ensuing spring fifty-five con- verts had been added to the church, which with those who joined by letter, swelled the membership to 127. During this pastorate the church was increased to its maximum number of 140 members. Elder Eastwood ^ removed to Waterford in 1841, and was succeeded by Elder Simon Fletcher ^ who had charge of the church for one year. Elder John Duncan,^ who had been pastor of the church at Kingsbury street, served the church another year. The next in order in charge of this church, was Elder O. H. Capron, from Galway, N. Y., who remained three years, during , which period, an interesting revival season was held, in which about 25 were added to the church. Its total membership at this time was reported at 131. He left in 1846, and subse- quently returned, for another term of labor, in 1851-2, with small results in the way of church growth. ' During his stay with this people, Elder Eastwood received a salary varying from $100 to $300, with some few additional perquisites. He spent three years at Waterford, N. Y., where, during a powerful revival in 1843, he added upwards of 70 to the church. * Elder Fletcher's salary was $350. Some unhappy dissensions arose during his pastorate, which impaired much of his usefulness. He afterwards labored in several of the cliurches of Warren county, and finally died at Johnsburgh, N. Y., in the year 1865. ' Elder Duncan has since filled several important pulpits, and attained, several years since, tlie title and dignity of D.D. He is now pastor of a large church at Fall River, Mass. THE CHURCHES. 195 After the removal of Elder Capron/ Elder John H, Barker cast his lot with this people and during two years ministered to their spiritual wants, gathering in but small harvest, however, as the field had been so thoroughly gleaned by his predecessor.^ In 1849 Elder Ira Bentley received a call to officiate in this church, and remained two years. But causes, which neither pastor nor people could control, had been at work for years to arrest the growth of the church, and divert its membership to other centres of busijuess and worship, so that after a strug- gling existence for years, there has no pastor been settled over the church since the removal of Elder Capron in 1853. Occa- sional services have been held,^ and an occasional baptism per- formed since that. time. The forsaken sanctuary, windowless, and dilapidated, stands like a wreck upon the bleak hillside, overlooking the tombstones of its once numerous worshippers; possibly awaiting the voice of some Ezra or Haggai to call the people together, rebuild the shattered temple, and restore the long neglected worship of the everliving God within its once hallowed walls. III. THE SECOND QUEENSBURY, OR WEST MOUNTAIN CHURCH. As already intimated, a few Baptists lived in the south-west part of the town, early in the history of the township, who may have been connected across the river at the Big bend, with the ' In April 1853, Elder Capron removed to Hebron, Washington county, N. Y., where, after a brief illness, he died on the 19th of June, 1854. ^ He removed to Adamsville in 1848, where he spent several years. He has since served the First Fort Edward church, the Hebron N. Y., and Rupert, Vt., churches, and is now settled again at Adamsville, where his declining years are passed in the supply of a feeble church. ^ From 1858 to '61, Elders C. R. Green, and Ransom 0. Dwyer, preached here a portion of the time. According to the Association statistics tbere have been about 240 persons connected with this church of whom 130 were baptized into its fellowship. It was connected with the Lake George Baptist Association, from 1833 to '39 after which, it united with the Washington Union body. The succession of clerks is as follows : Augustin M. Odell, 1833 to '35 ; Ansel Winchip, 1836, 1857, to '60 ; Charles Beadlestone, 1837 to '40 ; Jesse Ring, 1840 to '50 ; Morrill Baker 1850 to '57. Tobias Clements 1860 since when, all returns to the Association have ceased. Aaron Kidder, Ansel Winchip, John Winchip, William Vaughn, Edwin Sco- field and Abel R. Mason are all the deacons of the church of whom we have any record. 196 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Moreau church for a while. These were afterwards united to the Luzerne church over the mountain, which, from 1813 to 1827, was attached to the Saratoga Association. Since that period the progress and history of this interest can be traced by the aid of the Minutes of the Washington, and Washington Union Baptist Association, with which it has been connected. In June, 1827, at the first anniversary of the association above named, the Luzerne church was represented by Elder Stephen Call, and Allen Seymour, who reported 108 members in the fellowship. The next year, it was designated as the Baptist church of Luzerne and Queensbury, and Elder Call, D. Fair- child, and Henry Moses, were the delegates. How many of this church were residents of Queensbury, there are no present means of determining. Elder Call continued his pastorate as late as the year 1837. When the Washington Union Associa- tion was formed at Hartford, N. Y., in June, 1835, by the con- solidation of the Washington and Bottskill bodies, this church went into the new organization, reporting at that time 34 bap- tisms, and a total of 127 members. The digest of the state of the churches for 1836, says of this church, " they are inconveniently situated, being separated by a rugged mountain, in consequence of which, the members on either side have but little intercourse, and they think of be- coming two separate churches." In 1838, the Luzerne church was present, with returns of only 49 members, and Dea. Moses Randall, who had been recently licensed, as their preacher. The Second Queensbury, was represented in the association the same year, by Elder Charles Williams, Dea. David Barber, Lewis Wood, Henry Moses and David Williams. They reported no aggregate membership but we find the following in the digest for that year. " The Second Baptist church in Queens- bury has been constituted since our last session, have enjoyed a powerful revival of religion, and have received an addition of 40 or 50 by baptism. Have a sabbath school and bible class, and are in union. Elder J. H. Dwyer preaches to them one- fourth part of the time." With those set oflF from Luzerne, they must have numbered about 80 members. The germ of this new church was called Elder Williams' Conference, and Elders A. Wait, of Fort Edward, Norman Fox, residing at Glen's Falls, and supplying the Kingsbury church, and John Scofield of the Oneida, preached and baptized here occa- sionally. Elder Williams was reported as pastor from 1838 to THE CHURCHES. 197 '41, during which period the meeting house at the foot of the mountain was erected an.d dedicated.^ For want of authentic records, little can be said of the pro- gress of this society further than that after Elder Williams, Elder Dwyer served them in 1842, and Elder M. Randall for two or three years following. In 1843, the baptism of 12 is re- corded, and in 1845 that of seven more is mentioned, together with a total of 75 members. Since then no statistics are attain- able, until 1860, when Elder R. 0. Dwyer again represented the church, and reported 12 members, and again in 1863 with 20, having baptized that year a solitary convert. This church has furnished three candidates for the ministry viz. Moses Randall, Marvin Eastwood, and David Barber, all about the year 1836. Only the first two have been ordained fully to the work. The following persons have served as deacons, namely : Dan'l Fairchild, Moses Randall, Lewis Wood, David Barber, Henry Moses, David Williams and Orrin Van Duzen. The list of clerks is as follows : Martin Eastwood, 1835 to '8 ; Lewis Wood 1838 to '40 ; Ezra L Buckbee, 1840 to '44 and H. Van Duzen, 1844, onwards. During the winter and spring of 1870, services in the old church were revived by Elder C. H. Nash, pastor of the church at Glen's Falls, who has preached on alternate sabbath after- noons, and baptized several converts. IV. THE BAPTIST CHURCH OF GLEN'S FALLS. From what has been said of the increase of Baptists in various parts of the town, about the years 1830-'33, after the decay and extinction of the old church at the Round pond, it is evident that the material had been accumulating for an organization at the village of Glen's Falls, which, up to this period, had been unoccupied by the Baptists. A few of that faith had been resi- dents of the place from the commencement of the century ; a few ' The land was given by Mr. Abraham Van Duzen ; Mr. David Burnhani and son contributed liberally for the house. But the Baptist friends furnished the money chiefly to erect and complete the building. It has been called a Union House because it was thus built. It has been used freely by the Methodists as well as the Baptists. The building is about 32 X 45 feet, and probably cost about |1,200, when new. 198 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. others had removed hither from time to time, and settled here or in the immediate viciuity. Duriug the great revival in Elder Holt's congregation in 1831-33, he baptized a goodly number in the river at Glen's Falls, among whom were several residents of the village. Of this number were Dea. Asa Viele, and his wife, who in after years, were active members. In the summer of 1832, a movement was inaugurated looking to the permanent establishment of the Baptist church in the village. Unfortunately for the purposes contemplated, the re- cords of this church for the first thirty years of its existence, were consumed in the great fire of the 31st of May, 1864, and to some extent the compiler of this sketch is dependent upon the memories of its older members. Complete files of the minutes of the Washington Union Association, to which this church has belonged from its commencement, furnish in great part the missing data. In contemplation of writing a historical sketch of the various religious bodies of Glen's Falls, the author of this work was furnished an abstract of the minutes in 1861, from which the following extract is taken. ^ " On the 11th of August, 1832, according to appointment, thirty brethren and sisters met at the Red school house,^ in the west part of the village. Chose Elder J. C. Holt, moderator, and Moses Soper, clerk. They then passed the following resolu- tion : " Resolved, That we will meet with the professors of religion of the Baptist Order in the village of Glen's Falls and vicinity for religious conference, and the prosperity of Zion ; and that we assume the name of The Glen's Falls Baptist Conference." By the same document we learn the date of the full church organization as recorded in the following language, viz : " On Thursday, March 11, 1834, by request of the conference, ' This abstract was kindly furnished by Col. Hiram K. Colvin, at that time clerk, to whose memory, as a passing tribute of regard for a highly valued friend, now gone to his reward, the author would say, that he was a genial, kind hearted, stead- fast and reliable man, exemplary in his life and conduct, and whose public spirit and enterprise were so marked that the entire community, at liis decease, deplored his loss as one not readily to be replaced. ' The Old Red School House stood nearly upon the site of the present brick school house in District No. 20, at the junction of West and South streets. Tra- dition hands us down a story of Presbyterian opposition to this meeting, by which the door was found locked, and the windows fastened, when the hour for meeting had arrived. One of the sturdy brethren met the unexpected obstacle by taking an axe and knocking the door from its fastenings. THE CHURCHES. 199 the following churches, represented by delegates, met to or- ganize a Baptist church at the village, namely, Moreau, Green- field, Luzerne, Queensbury, Kingsbury, Hartford, Fort Edward, Milton, and Burnt Hills. The council organized by appointing Elder John Harris moderator, and Elder Norman Fox for clerk. A committee of seven was appointed to draft articles of faith, and a covenant to be adopted by said church ; viz. Brethren Harris, Skinner, Baldwin, Grant, Fox, Holt and Billings. As soon as the committee made their report, it was accepted and adopted unanimously. A motion was then made that the right hand of fellowship be given to said church. Elder Harris, of Burnt Hills, preached the sermon ; Elder H. C. Skinner, of Greenfield, extended the hand of fellowship in behalf of said council; and Elder Henry F. Baldwin, of Hartford, addressed them as a church." During the first five years, this little fiock had no regular pastor. In 1837-8, the elders of the association, were detailed in order successively to visit and preach to this congregation once in every mouth as a gratuity. From the year 1834 to 1840 only 10 had been added by baptism to the church and in the last named year a membership of 53 was reported, the same aggregate with which they started. But better times were at hand. The season of their extremity became God's opportunity, and he sent them, as a co worker in this portion of his vineyard, Elder Amos R. Wells, who by his industry, devotion, and self- sacrificing eftbrts, commenced building the sure foundations of this New Zion, upon which so fair and goodly a superstructure has since been added. He united with the church by letter on the 1st of May, 1839, and became its first pastor. He found less than forty members in its communion, and, in the words of the last report made to the association, "they were a feeble band, under discouraging circumstances, sometimes almost ready to give up their vitality, but at other times more encour- aged. The disappointment endured in not having more than half the preaching promised the last year, was very great, but the coming of one half of the pastors, was as cold water to a thirsty soul." In this forlorn condition Elder "Wells took charge of them, made their case his own, and labored in faith and hope for about seven years, inspiring them by his zeal and self deny- ing endeavors, to build a house of worship. This building was commenced in the spring of 1840, and was completed, and finally 200 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. dedicated on the 30th of March, 1842; Elder Joseph Fletcher of Saratoga Springs preaching the sermon of dedication.^ A series of meetings followed, in which the pastor was assisted by Elder James Delanj, then of Kingsbury, and through whose instrumentality many were added to the church. Elder Wells steadily continued his ministry until the fall of 1845, when for a few months his place was occupied by Elder Asa Bronson.^ In 1846 Elder Walls resumed his labors here for another year, when he finally terminated his pastorate, whose duties had been so long, faithfully, and laboriously discharged by him.^ During his ministry, from 1839 to 1846, the church received about 120 to her membership, of whom Elder Wells baptized about 50, and lost 55 in various ways. He found 38, and left a membership of 107. His salary was inadequate * to ' It was the same building now occupied by the Baptists on Maple, facing Church street. It has since, been greatly improved, and somewhat enlarged. The material is of brick, with a full sized basement 40 by 60 feet, having a bap- tistry, bell-tower and bell, the original cost of all which, was probably not less than $5000. It has been asserted that its cost equalled the actual capital of all the membership at the time it was built. The burden of this was lightened in great degree by the liberal contributions of friends from abroad, who generously responded to the appeals of Elder Wells, and his struggling parish. The amount of these benefactions can not now be accurately stated, but, in the year 1841, alone, about $420 was contributed by eight of the sister churches embraced iu the asso- ciation. * He had been a very useful minister at Fall River, Mass., for many years, and had also served the First Baptist church of Albany, the previous year. An able preacher and exemplary man, he spent about two months as pastor of the two churches at Glen's Falls and Sandy Hill, but being recalled, he returned to the field of his former successful labors in May, 1846. " In 1847 he supplied the Baptist church at North Hebron, N. Y. In 1850-1 he filled the pulpit of the first Fort Ann church, where he perfonned his last ministe- rial labors. This church bore the following testimony to his merit, in a letter to the association in 1852. " Our former pastor, Elder A. R. Wells, closed his labors in the spring of 1851, and was soon called to his rest and reward. So long as he remained among us, he continued to be esteemed and beloved by his brethren, and by all lovers of good men. for his firm adherence to the doctrines of the gospel, his amiable and Christian spirit, and his exemplary and godly life." * There are few who realize how much the Baptist cause in Glen's Falls is in- debted to the patient toil and unselfish sacrifices of Elder Amos R. Wells, and his faithful wife. Their remains rest in the village cemetery, the spot being marked by a neat monument of marble upon which is engraved the following inscription, viz : REV. AMOS R. WELLS, Born Nov. 19, 1794, Died June 10, 1851. SARAH WHITEHEAD, Wife of Amos R. Wells, born April 25, 1800, Died Nov. 27, 1864. THE CHURCHES. 201 the support of his familj. His wearisome labors, aad persistent industry, deserved a better recompense than he received. But the days of his zeal and devotion are not yet forgotten, and the impress of his labors still rest upon the church as a seal of his effective ministry. In the autumn of 1846, Elder William W. Moore of Lansing- burgh, N. Y., was called to the pastorate, dividing his time be- tween this church, and the one at Sandy Hill, in order to obtain an adequate support, for the space of two years. His gifts as a preacher were of a superior order. A revival of great interest ensued the following winter, as the result of which 95 members were added to the church, 64 of whom were newly baptized converts. He dissolved his connection with this church in the fall of 1848, continuing his pastorate over the Sandy Hill society another year.^ During his ministry here the church attained a membership of 170. With such a field of labor, and so large a congregation it is not surprising, that the people should feel that the exclusive services of a pastor were needed. Late in the summer of 1849, Horace G. Mason,^ a native of Granville, IST. Y,, was called to officiate. In September follow- ing he was ordained, and immediately entered upon the active duties of his charge. His ministry was attended with gratifying results, by the addition of considerable numerical strength, and material resources to the church. Although but a youth, he served with great acceptance, and among other solid works done, was the clearing up of a mortgage on the church, which had weighed down and paralyzed its energies from its infancy. During his brief pastorate about 100 members were added to the church, and upwards of $200 contributed towards various objects of Christian benevolence, besides quite an amount spent in refitting and repairing their place of During this temporary supply, a bell was purchased for the church, Avliich of course was quite an event for the little hamlet of 40 or 50 houses. For the next seventeen years this was the only church bell in the village. — Vide Fennel's His- torical Sketch, p. 21. (a) Ravaud K. Rodgers was born in the city of New York, Nov. 3d, 1796. His preparatory studies were pursued in New York. In the month of November, 1813, he joined the junior class of the Princeton College, N. J.,, graduated in 1815 ; in November of the same year, commenced the study of theology at Princeton, at- tending the three years' course of lectures at that place. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New York in April, 1818, continuing at the seminary until the following autumn, when he was sent out by the Board of Missions of the Pres- byterian church, to Indiana, which was then on the outmost frontier of civilization. During that missionary tour of six months he traveled over two thousand miles (mostly on horseback) and preached about one hundred times. The ensuing fall he was dispatched by the committee of Missions to the northern part of the state of New York. It was on his return from this tour in the early part of 1820, that he was met at Sandy Hill with an invitation to accept the charge of the associ- ated church of Kingsbury and Queensbury. He was married on the 10th of Oc- tober, 1821, to Miss Caroline W. Thomas, daughter of John Thomas, Esq., of Sandy Hill, N. Y. In the month of January, 1830, he received a call from the Presbyterian church at Bound Brook, N. J., which was accepted, and that relation has uninteruptedly existed to the present time. At what time or from what source he received the degree of doctor of divinity, I have not learned. 214 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. " On Wednesday, the fourteenth day of March, 1821, Ravaud K. Rodgers was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry, and installed pastor of the united church of Kingsbury and Queensbury. The Rev. Jonas Coe, D.D., of Troy, preached the sermon from Second Timothy, fourth chapter, first, and second verses. The Rev. Samuel Tomb of Salem, presided and made the consecrat- ing prayer. The Rev. Nathaniel S. Prime gave the charge to the pastor, and the Rev. Ethan Smith of Hebron addressed the people. On this occasion a large congregation attended, and the exercises throughout were solemn and interesting." A steady growth marked the prosperity of the church, and the zeal and efficiency of its minister, during all the earlier years of his pastorate. The year 1824 was especially memorable for the number added to its communion. In a semi-centennial ^ discourse delivered in 1868, Dr. Rodgers thus refers to this period in his ministry. " My pastorate in my first charge, was for the most part a pleasant one. Friendships were formed which nothing but death could dissolve. We had some seasons of delightful refreshing from the presence of the Lord. I can never forget one of commanding interest, when nearly one hun- dred persons came out from the world, and took the vows of God upon them. It was a sabbath long to be remembered." " By an order of the Presbytery of Troy, the United Presby- terian church of Kingsbury and Queensbury, was, in the month of August 1827, divided, so that that part of the church within the town of Queensbury, should thereafter be known by the name of the Presbyterian church of Glen's Falls." ^ Up to this time, nothing had transpired to mar the harmony and prosperity of the church. From a membership of thirty or thirty-five it had steadily increased to an aggregate of over one hundred and fifty. This large growth evidently contained some germs of corruption. The year " 1828 seems to have been largely devoted to discipline. The regular communion for April, 1820, was postponed by resolution of the session, on ac- count of the unchristian state of things in the church."^ 1 Dating from liis licensure. This sermon was preached before his congregation at Bound Brook, New Jersey, April 26th, 1868, and was published in pamphlet form the same year. ' Copied verbatim from the session's records. ' Rev. A. J. Fennel's Hutoridal Sketch, p. 21. THE CHURCHES. 215 • During the same month,^ and at his own request, the relations of the Rev. Mr. Rodgers with the church at Glen's Falls were discontinued. During the interregnum which intervened before the employment of another minister, Mr. John Folsom supplied to some extent the deficiency in the services, and at the request of the session frequently presided at its deliberations. Mr. Folsom, who had then been recently licensed to preach, had, from its foundation, been a ruling elder in the church, and a man of consideration, and influence in community, (a) Arnong the ministers, who occasionally supplied the pulpit, or acted as moderator in the session, as appears by its record, we find the names of the Rev. Messrs. John Savage, John Ken- nedy, Amos Savage jr., Ezra D. Kinney, Reuben Smith, Caleb B. Tracy, and Washington Roosevelt. For. six months, dating from the twenty-second of August, 1860, the Rev. Edwin Hall, (6) (now Doctor of Divinity, and Prof. ' Twenty-eiglitli of April, 1828. His pastoral relations with the church at Sandy Hill continued until February, 1830. (a) Mr. John Folsom removed to this place from Albany early in the century, and took an active interest in the erection of the new church. He had been a ruling elder of the church in Albany, and to his influence in great degree is due the fact that this society assumed the Presbyterian, rather than the Congregational form of government. Mr. Folsom was a man of considerable means, holding at one time a large interest in the toll-bridge across the river. He resided on the south side of the river, in the house (which he built) so long known as the Rice mansion. According to a very brief obituary notice, published in Olen's Falls Spectator, Aug. 17th, 1839, he died " on the 4th inst." 83 years of age. For many years he was in the habit of performing missionary work in his neighborhood. The fact that he had been licensed as a preacher is mentioned in the session's records under the date of 2d December, 1831. During a long career of usefulness, he commanded a large measure of the respect and confidence of the community in which he lived. (b) In a communication to the author. Dr. Hall states that this was his first ex- perience in the ministry, and for the time being, he was the only Presbyterian minister in Warren county. He had long endured feeble health, hawng, four years previously, been given up to die of consumption. He found the work here too hard for him, and, after trying it awhile, had to give up, and return to his former vocation of teaching. The following year he went to Norwalk, Conn., where he remained pastor of the 1st church until 1855, when he received the call to his present position. He relates the following interesting reminiscence of his ministry here. " While I was there, some of my personal friends. Rev. Amos Savage, Rev. Alva Day, and Rev. E. D. Kinney, came and helped me hold a protracted meeting. At the close of it, Mr. Savage and myself started for Chester, to see what we could do there. We stopped at Mr. Baldwin's (Judge Seth C), in Caldwell to inquire the way, and Mrs. Baldwin inquired with much earnestness if we were not -going to do something there ? We told her that we had been advised that it would do no good to stop at Caldwell, the Methodists had tried it and been driven oflT. At Mrs. Baldwin's solicitation we stopped, visited every house, and I preached to them 216 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. of Theology in the Auburn University), supplied the pulpits at Glen's Falls, and Sandy Hill, besides preaching occasionally in the Methodist church at Fort Edward. In reply to interroga- tions respecting his ministry here, Dr. Hall states as follows. " At that time, the church edifice at Glen's Falls was so di- lapidated that no meeting could be held in it. "We met in the lecture room built by Mr. Folsom, near Mr. Goodrich's. The meetings became too large for it, and Capt. Berry repaired the church, and had his pay at the first sale of pews. Every pew was taken." The following item taken from The Warren Messenger, of Saturday, January 1st, 1831, refers to the same subject. "As an evidence of the increasing prosperity and improvement in this village, we would notice, that during the latter part of summer, and this fall, the Presbyterian church in this place has undergone a thorough repair, and a new and excellent bell has been obtained for the church, and put up for use. Before the repairs were made, more than three-fourths of the pews remained on the hands of the corporation, and were unsold. A few days ago, the pews were put up for sale at auction, and sold to good advantage. There were not pews enough to supply the demand. " Sunday before last the Rev. Warren Farlin preached, for the first time after the sale of the pews, an able discourse. " The church was well filled. At least three hundred persons attended. " The board of trustees of the temporalities of the church is now full, and is composed of Messrs. Buell, Berry, Curtenius, Esta- brook, Benedict, and Van Pelt. Too much credit cannot be given to Capt. Berry (one of the board) for his active exertions in making advances to repair the church. " Th« Methodist church erected last summer, is a fine sub- stantial stone building. The pastors of both congregations, (Kev. Mr. Hall of the Presbyterian, and the llev. Mr. Seny of the Methodist church), are both gentlemen of superior talents and' education, and deserve the support of the community in which they live." in the Court House tliat evening. The revival began immediately. We had an appointment at Chester, and sent back for Mr. Kinney to come to Caldwell. He did 80, and after they had left, I went up often to Caldwell and preached. As the result, Mr. lavage and myself organized the first church in Caldwell. Mrs. Bald- win had previously kept up a sabbath school for three years, which had doubtless prepared the way for the work that followed." V %^!)yA.H.Bita:i^" ^o^/y/i^'^^^^^^ ^- .yr^^^-ryrrT^T^ THE CHURCHES. 217 From the date of Mr. Hall's departure, the church remained destitute of a stated supply, until the arrival of the Rev. Ephraim H. ]^ewton,(a) in the fall of 1832, in response to a call which had been extended to him in September of that year. His name first appears as moderator of the session on the 5th of October. He was installed on the 28th of February, 1833, at which time, the Rev. John Whiton, of Salem, presided as moderator ; Rev. Mr. Fleming of Whitehall, made the introductory prayer; Rev. Nathan S. S. Bemau, of Troy, preached the sermon; the Rev. Mark Tucker, of Troy, gave the charge to the pastor; and the Rev. Reuben Smith, of Waterford, the charge to the con- gregation; the concluding prayer being made by the moderator. (a) Ephraim Holland Newton ^ was born in Newfane, Windham county, Vt., IStli June, 1787. His ancestors were of English stock, and being among the early colonists, settled in the eastern part of Massachusetts. His grandfather, Marshal Newton, was a lieutenant in Col. Williams's regiment in the old French war, and according to family tradition, took part in the skirmishes and battles occurring in the vicinity of Glen's Falls and Lake George, during that struggle. His father, Marshal Newton jr., served for seven years as a private in the Revolu- tionary war, and was a participant in the actions of Monmouth and Brandywine, and wintered at Valley Forge. He served during the war as blacksmith and armorer. At the cessation of hostilities, he removed with his newly married wife from his native place, Shrewsbury, Mass., to Newfane, Vt., where, in a log-house on Newfane hill, the subject of this sketch was born. Though destined by his father to pursue his own avocation of a blacksmith, he early evinced a thirst and craving for knowledge beyond what could be obtained in the common schools adjacent to his mountain home ; and with that self reliance so characteristic of the New Elngland boy, he mastered both English and Latin grammar by the light of his forge fire, as he swayed the bellows pole up and down. At the age of eighteen, he taught a district school in Marlborough, Vt., where he afterwards officiated as its minister, studying meanwhile, and fitting for college, under the supervision of Rev. Alvan Tobey of Wilmington, Vt. He entered the freshman class of Middlebury college, 6th of October, 1806, and graduated 16th of August, 1810. During his junior year, he madg a profession of religion, and with about one hundred others, in April, 1810, he united with the Congregational church at Middlebury. Preparing for the ministry, he entered the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass., in the month of November following, and completed his studies in September, 1813. He was licensed to preach by the Haverhill, Massachusetts, Association of Congregational ministers, on the 14th of April pre- ceding. In October of the same year, he commenced preaching at Marlborough, Vt., and on the 14th of March, 1814, he was ordained and installed pastor of the Con- gregational church of that place. In 1815, he married Huldah, eldest daughter of Maj. Gen. Timothy F. Cliipman of Shoreham, Vt.,and, for nearly twenty years was not only the minister but the guide and teacher of the people of the rude and poor mountain-town of Marlborough. His next pastoral labors were performed at Glen's Falls, as recorded in the text. During his pastorate here one hundred and seventy-two members were added to the church. In the same time, also, he esta- 1 For the material of this sketch I am chiefly iudebted to his sou, John M. Newtou of Cincinnati, Ohio. 28 218 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. lu 1834 a powerful revival occurred, resulting in the addition of large numbers to the church. On the sixth of August, 1836, Mr, Newton tendered his resig- nation to the session, "in consequence of the embarrassed state of their funds in his support, and the prospect of his usefulness being thereby impaired." On the 25th of August he was dis- missed by the Presbytery from his pastoral charge. The names next occurring on the sessional records as tem- porarily officiating here, are the Kev. Amos C. Tuttle, Rev. Mr. Willoughby, and Rev. J. H. Noble, the latter supplying the pulpit for several months. In addition to these, the records bear the names of the Rev. Courtney Smith, and the Rev. P. F. Phelps. The name of the Rev. J. F. Scoville first appears as presiding over a meeting of the session on the 10th of August, 1837. For a period of five years he remained in charge of the church, during which time it was exceedingly prospered, two extensive revivals contributing largely to an increase of membership blislied a very prosperous select school, wliicli was conducted a portion of the time in the second story of a framed building a little south of Threehouse's hotel, and at another time over the old Post office adjoining the Long row. He removed from this place to Cambridge, Washington county, N. Y., where he was installed as pastor over the Presbyterian church in November, 1836. He continued at this latter place until August, 1843, during which period eighty-three persons were added to the church. Following this, he served five years as principal of the Cambridge Academy. His wife died in November, 1853. His tastes inclined him largely to the pursuit of the natural sciences, and he attained a wide and well earned repute as a mineralogist and geologist. There is little doubt but he would have found his mission more fully developed as a professor and teacher of thes(! recondite spheres of learning. Of crystals, mineralogical, lithological and fossiliferous specimens, he had a highly interesting and valuable collection, num- bering upwards of ten thousand, which he afterwards presented to the seminary at Andover, and for which a building was expressly erected. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the college at Middlebury, and in turn, at the close of his life, presented that institution with his library numbering about one thousand volumes. In 1860, he returned to his old homo at Marlborough, Vt., and finding that place very much run down and its church destitute of a minister he resolved to renew his pastoral relations, and with all the zeal and ardor of youth threw liimself into the work. Two years later, during the fierce struggle of the rebellion, he was chosen without liis knowledge to the legishiture, and in view of the urgent necessity of having true and patriotic men in power he finally accepted the trust, and discharged its duties with fidelity. In 1863-4 he was acting as pastor at Wilmington, Vt. He died, after his return from a visit to his children and friends at the west, at the residence of his sonin-law, John M. Ste- venson, of Cambridge, N. Y., on the 6th of October, 1864. It could be said of him emphatically, that his ruling desire was to be of use to his fellow men ; a puritan in appearance, in practice and belief. THE CHURCHES. 219 during his ministry. It was during this pastorate that the di- vision occurred in the Presbyterian church which for a long serle*5 of years rent it asunder into two bodies known as the old and new schools. This church at first strove to be neutral ' but finally identified itself with the new school branch. On the 12th of October, 1841, the meeting of Synod was held with this society, an occasion made memorable by the eloquence of Rev. E. N. Kirk, iT. S. S. Beman and other great lights of the church. The last record of Rev. J. F. Scoville's services in connection with the church occurred on the 27th of June, 1842.^ In the interregnum which followed, the names of Rev. Daniel C. Frost, and Abijah Crane appear as occasionally officiating. About this time, at the suggestion of the Rev. N. S. S. Beman of Troy, the Rev. John W. Ray, then but recently graduated from the Union Theological Seminary of New York city, visited the place and gave two or three. trial sermons, and as many lectures. These were followed by a formal call, which was forwarded to him at N'ew York city, and on the 27th of August following, he commenced his ministry of three years in the pulpit of this church during which time the congregation sustained the ser- vices with untiring zeal, and unfailing interest. At Mr. Ray's instance, and in a great degree through his instrumentality, a session room was erected, which for several years, in addition to its more specific uses, served the community as a lyceum and lecture room. It was a substantial, well finished, and com- modious structure of brick and was built on the east corner of the church lot. This building, together with the church, was utterly destroyed in the great fire of 1864. During Mr. Ray's pastorate, the membership of the church was increased from one hundred and sixty, to two hundred and fifty communicants. In addition to this, an increased attend- ance added to the material resources of the church, so soon to ' " Resolved, That the circumstances of this church are such, that we do not feel willing to send a delegate to the meeting of Synod, on the 9th inst., to convene at Hudson, but intend to continue our neutrality for the present in relation to the division that has taken place in the Presbyterian church." — Records of Session, Oct. 8th, 1838. A delegate to attend the Presbytery at Lansingburgh, was chosen Aug. 26th, 1839. ^ The Rev. J. F. Scoville was subsequently degraded from the ministry for im- moral and unbecoming conduct. 220 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. be required aud drawn upon in the erection of two costly churches. In consequence of ill health, resulting from an over taxed constitution, Mr. Ray, twice in the fall of 1845, tendered his resignation. This was finally accepted, accompanied by some complimentary resolutions testifying the regard and good will of the session. His farewell sermon, preached to a large and sympathizing congregation, was elaborated from the following significant text : " Therefore watch and remember, that by the space of three years, I ceased not to warn every one, night and day with tears. And now brethren, T commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sancti- fied." {a) After a short interval, the vacancy occasioned by this removal was supplied for a period of nine months by the Rev. John Gray, (a) The Rev. John W. Ray was a native of Norwich, N. Y. He graduated at Amherst College, Mass., in 1839 ; and at the Union Theological Seminary, in New York city, in 1842, where he took his junior and senior years ; his middle year having been taken at the Auburn Seminary. He was licensed April 8th, 1843, by the third Presbyiery of New York city. Soon afterward he visited the city of Troy, contemplating a missionary work in that vicinity ;■ but at the suggestion of Rev. Doctor Beman, he went up to Glen's Falls as a candidate for the vacant pulpit. When he preached his first sermon in the Old White, as the church was then called, he found a man awaiting him in the porch, who was once a member of his Sunday school class in Auburn State Prison. This man at once interested himself in Mr. Ray's settlement, olFering to contribute five dollars towards his salary ; and insisting with great earnestness that Mr. Ray " knew the Bible from one end to the other, and that he could tell everything that was in it." Returning to New York, he received a call to supply the first Presbj-'terian chiirch at New Bruns- wick, N. J., but previous to deciding, an invitation was received from this church, which, after due deliberation, was accepted. During the first winter of his engage- ment here, a revival occurred, by which about fifty members were added to the communion. After lea\nng Glen's Falls, Mr. Ray oflBciated at Avon Springs, and Perry. Here, becoming an Episcopalian in sentiment, he resigned his charge and ministry, and removed to the state of Missouri, where he was confirmed by Bishop Hawkes, and where he at first studied, and afterwards practiced law. Subsequently he removed to Illinois, where, for two years, he was occupied with the editorial management of a newspaper, Avhich was the first one in the whole country to projwse the name of the late lamented Lincoln for the presidency. During his first presidential term, Mr. Ray had charge for a while of a division in the department of Indian affairs at Washington. He was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal church, by Bishop Whitehouse at Chicago, 111., in 1865 ; and the same year received priest's orders "at the hands of the Rt. Rev. Samuel Allen McCoskry, of Michigan. For a number of years he has been the rector of St. Peter's church at Westfield, Chautauguay co., N. Y., where he now resides. «H? ^ VTkY^'-^ THE CHURCHES. 221 since deceased. There is nothing of record or any memorable events to commemorate his connection with this church. The last session over which he presided was held July 3d, 1846. In the month of October following, a call was extended to the present incumbent, the Rev. A. J. Fennel, («) who, very shortly afterward, entered upon the discharge of his duties, and who, for the long series of years which have since elapsed has re- tained, in an eminent degree, the respect, good will, and confi- dence of his church members, and congregation, a large pro- portion of whom, have been gathered into his fold, during his long pastorate. By special act of legislature in 1848, the name of the corpora- tion was changed, and the temporalities of the society were vested in The First Presbyterian Church of Glen's Falls. The same year, the Old White was torn down, and a handsome brick structure erected on its site. This work was placed in tlie hands of a very efiicient building committee, consisting of Messrs. Bethuel Peck, Albert N". Cheney, and George G. Hawley. The church was completed at a cost of about nine thousand dollars, and was dedicated in March, 1850, by Rev. Mr. Fennel, who selected as his theme on that occasion, " the true use of a Christian temple." This edifice was utterly de- stroyed in the great fire of May 31st, 1864. The present church structure was commenced the following year, and was completed in 1867. During this interval, the wor- ship of the congregation .was conducted in the Baptist church.' The first sermon preached in the new building was a historical discourse, delivered by the pastor on the afternoon of June 16th, 1867, in which the rise, progress and present condition of the church were exemplified. In this discourse (afterwards pub- {a) Rev. Andrew Jackson Fennel was born in the town of Ira, Rutland Co., Vermont, on the 21st of June, 1815. A portion of his boyhood was passed at the village of Castleton, Vt. In the seminary at that place he received his preparatory education. His ministerial studies were pursued at the Theological Seminary in Auburn, N. Y., where he graduated in 1843. For three years following, he preached in the Congregational church at Groton, Tompkins co., N. Y. He was called to the pastorate of the Presbyterian church in Glen's Falls, in October, 1846. His long service in the ministry here, is sufficient evidence of his acceptability, and the high regard, and esteem in which he is held by his people. During his ministry he has been twice sent away by his people for the recovery of his health ; once to the island of Cuba, and once on a tour to the southern states. In 1843, he was married at Little Falls, Herkimer co., N. Y., to Priscilla A. Hackley, a descendant of the Wolcott and Griswold families of Connecticut. The fruit of this union has been five children, of whom three sons are now living. 222 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. lished) he says : " Aud now behold a church and furniture cost- ing ah-eady $25,000, aud no debt. Great credit is due to our trustees, S. L. Goodman, Henry Crandell, Jerome Lapham, A. C. Tearse, Daniel Peck, for their wise and earnest efficiency in the enterprise, and their personal liberality." (a) Since then, a fine and powerful organ has been added to the church, at a cost of nearly three thousand dollars. The church (a) Henry M. P.vrsons. This account of the Presbyterian church, as well as the history of Glen's Falls, would be incomplete without some mention of the gifted and accomplished scholar, the eloquent, and impassioned orator, the grace- ful writer, whose name heads this article. He was the son of Elnathan Parsons, and was born at Glen's Falls, N. Y., 27th of July, 1813. He was baptized Sunday, the 13th of February, 1814, by the Rev. Samuel Blatchford, D.D., of Lansingburgh. He was admitted to membership, under the pastorate of the Rev. Ravaud K. Rodgers in his native place in August, 1825, thus, at the tender age of twelve, tak- ing upon himself the vows of allegiance and service to his Divine Master. He early exhibited a great aptitude for study, giving bright promise of the brilliant intellect, of which his maturer years, notwithstanding ill health and a frail, delicate constitution, gave some fruitage. In 1827 he attended the academy. East Hampton, L. I. The follo%ving year he entered the academy, then under the charge of N. S. Prime, D.D., at Cambridge, N. Y., where he went though a pre- paratory course of study to fit himself for college. In the winter of 1829, he taught school on Luzerne mountain, continuing his studies the ensuing season, under the supervision of William Hicks, a somewhat noted teacher, who then had charo-e of the old academy, of which some account is given elsewhere. In April, 1831, he entered the freshman class at Williams College, Williams- town, Mass., having for a room mate, a young man also fitting for the ministry, afterward the Rev. Theodore Sayre. In consequence of the growth and early development of that pulmonary trouble which eventuated in his death, he left college on account of ill health and spent the summer at the sea shore. The two succeeding years he spent in teaching at such intervals as his health would admit. In 1835 he went south, partly, and principally on account of his health, and taught at Augusta, Georgia. In the winter of 1836 he was rector of Appling Institute. In June, 1837, he was taken ill and forced to retire from his educational pursuits. In March following he returned home to the north where he remained chiefly at home, and on the sick list for the next two years. In July, 1839, he embarked on the Roanoke for a whaling voyage with a view to the improvement of his health, and was absent eleven months. He derived so much benefit from this trip, that in August, 1840, he set sail in the same vessel, but was left at the island of Fayal sick and returned home in November of the same year. During the weeks of his convalescence he published over the signature of The Wanderer, in the Olen's Falls Gazette, a series of very interesting articles, descriptive of his voyages and adventures. He engaged for a brief period in 1841 in mercantile pursuits in the city of New York. In 1842 and '3 he was assistant editor of the Christian Family Magazine. In 1845, he taught in Greenport, and in 1846 in Southampton, L. I. He studied theology with Dr. H. !N. Wilson. He was installed over the church in Moriches, October 8th, 1847. This pastoral relation was dissolved in June, 1852. He was installed as pastor of the Warren Run church. Pa., October 13th, 1852. His health again failing, he was obliged to give up his ministerial labors in 1854. He returned to Glen's Falls where he remained an invalid for the two i THE CHURCHES. 223 was dedicated on the 19th of June, 1867, by the Rev. Dr. Hickok then president of Union College. The interior decoration of the building ia rich and costly, the pews being finished up with different colored wood work, the windows of stained glass with life sized delineations of the Savior; the wall and ceilings artist- ically ornamented with colored panel work; and in the tower following years. The winter of 1857 lie spent again at the south. The following autumn he located at Southampton, Long Island, where he remained until the time of his death, which occurred on the 10th of August, 1859. Notwithstanding his life long struggle with a frail constitution against continu- ally recurring attacks of sickness, his record reflects honor upon the place of his nativity. An easy, accomplished writer, a graceful, impassioned and fluent orator, a sincere, devout and exemplary Christian, his name will always be precious in the memory of the many who knew and loved him. The author assumes an author's privilege, in this connection to append the fol- lowing communication from George R. Howell, assistant librarian of the State Library at Albany, he having been a student under Mr. Parsons, and well in- formed, and competent to bear testimony to his ability and worth. Rev. Henry M. Parsons, while on a visit to his uncle residing at Southampton, L. I., was engaged to take charge of the academy at that place in the summer of 1846 (or '7). While there he won the love and respect of his pupils and was held in high esteem by the whole community. Soon after the completion of the sum- mer term he studied theology with the Rev. Hugh N. Wilson, D.D., pastor of the Presbyterian church in Southampton, and was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Long Island. He received a call to the Presbyterian church at Moriches on Long Island and having accepted it, at once was installed and began his labors. This church at that time was a feeble one, but soon after his installation Provi- dence blessed his labors with an abundant revival whereby many were added to the church. He labored here with entire acceptance to the people of his charge until his failing health compelled him to resign the work of the ministry. Although he had other calls to more extended and remunerative fields of labor, yet such was the attachment between pastor and people that they were all declined. He was a brilliant and polished orator, but self was never thrust forward at the ex- pense of his theme. Elocution, gesture and delivery were perfect, and his rare gracefulness never failed to win the hearts of his audience or his clear logical arguments their conviction. An oration delivered on a fourth of July at Sag Harbor is even yet remembered and spoken of by those who listened to it as one of the finest eflfbrts of oratory ever witnessed in that village. His early death, with so much promise of usefulness before him, h*as always been one of those mysteries of Divine Providence which baffle our comprehension in this life. About the year 1848 he married Miss Maria R. Brown, on her mother's side descended from one of the oldest and most respected families of Southampton. Her father was a native of New Jersey where the family resided, but died before the writer of this was old enough to know of these events personally. Mrs. Brown returned to her native place with her family and here they were educated. Mrs. Parsons was a lady of rare loveliness of character and possessed what the New Englauders caYlfaculti/, or tact, to an eminent degree. They had but one child, a son who was drowned while bathing in Southampton about the year 1858. Geo. R. Howell. State Library, Albany, April 1st, 1874. 224 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. are placed a heavy, fine toned bell, and a town clock of superior workmanship. The entire cost of the church, with its fixtures and furniture complete, is estimated at upwards of thirty thou- sand dollars. The present roll of membership embraces the names of be- tween two hundred and fifty and three hundred communicants. Appended hereto, may be found a list of the ruling elders, and trustees, from the first organization of the church, to the pre- sent time. Muling Elders. Elected. 1834. Albert Blakesly, 1838. Sheldon Benedict, " Linus B. Barnes, " Miron Osborn, Elected. 1808. John Folsom, Died, 1839. " John Moss jr., Dismissed, 1822. 1809. Jonathan Harris, " Matthew Scott, " Joseph Caldwell, 1819. Solomon P. Goodrich, Died, 1831. " Samuel Cranston, Dismissed, 1882. 1827. Charles &. Jones, Dismissed, 1829, " Gridley H. Packard, Dismissed, 1830. 1830. Levi Hamilton, Dismissed, 1833. " Samuel S. Tallmadge, Dismissed, 1848. 1831. Sidney Berry, (o) Died, 1839, " - Elias Hawley, Dismissed, 1833. Died, 1850. 1851. Orville Cronkhite, " John J. Miller, 1855. Henry Wing, " William T. Norris, Fell in action 2d Bull Run, 1862. 1857. Linus B. Barnes, " Orville Cronkhite, " Sheldon Benedict, 1870, Linus B. Barnes, " Sheldon Benedict, " Henry Wing, " John J. Miller, " William Hotchkiss, " Frederic A. Johnson jr., " Joseph Fowler. (a) Sidney Berry was the youngest son of a numerous family, the children of Sidney Berry, of Nortlmmberlaud, .Saratoga county, N. Y. The latter was the neighbor and intimate friend of the late Dr. Billy J. Clark, and was one of the signers of the first temperance pledge of which we have record. The intellectual advantages of the younger Berry were limited ; his only edu- cation being that derived from a country district school, and the hard attrition of a farm life, which, while it may help to knock the nonsense out of a young man certainly did in those days very little towards a young man's intellectual culture or polish. He commenced business for himself as soon as he was of age, following for a number of years, the somewhat diverse pursuits of farming and lumbering, which THE CHURCHES. 225 Trustees. Elected I. Elected. 1807. William Robards, 1815. u John A. Ferriss, (( (( Daniel Peck, 1816. u William Hay, (( u John Folsom, (( u Mieajah Pettit, 1817. 1811. Uzziel Stevens, a u William Robards, 1818. u John Folsom, u (( John Thomas, il 1( Edmund Peck, 1820. l( William Wing, (( 1812. John A. Ferriss, (( (( Uzziel Stevens, (( 1813. John Thomas, 1821. u John Folsom, u 1814. Asahel Clark, 1822. (( Elnathan Parsons, (( Stephen Clark, John A. Ferriss, Thomas Colton, John Folsom, John Thomas, Solomon P. Groodrich, Hezekiah Leavens, Elias Hawley, John A. Ferriss, Royal Leavens, J. Lyman Arms, Solomon P. Goodrich. John Thomas, B. F. Butler, Horatio Buell, Elias Hawley, J. Lyman Arms, Solomon P. Groodrich, were continued until about the year 1834, in the vicinity of his early home. He then abandoned his farm pursuits, and removed to Glen's Falls, where he bought of Mr. Alpheus Hawley, the residence which then had been but recently built by a Mr. Jonathan Beach, on the old Gen. Warren Ferriss lot. This, he greatly im- proved and embellished, and during the remainder of his life it continued to be the home of himself and family. Through all the later years of his life he was known as Captain Berry, having in his early manhood been the commandant of a company of light horse, which was raised in the upper districts of Saratoga county. In 1825 he became the subject of conversion in a religious revival which occurred in his neighborhood, and joined the Presbyterian church, of which religious body he was ever afterward a zealous and earnest member, renewing his fealty on his removal to Glen's Falls, and becoming in turn, as will be seen by the record, a trustee and elder of the church whose history is here recorded. It is stated on good authority that he offered, (and it is believed that those most interested were not slow in availing themselves of the opportunity), to pay as long as he lived, one- fifth of all the expenses of the church, adding in his quaint way, that if they worked it right, they might get a little more, which their necessities often con- strained them to do. He married Eliza, daughter of John Folsom, a sketch of whose hfe is given herewith. By her he had three children, all daughters, the eldest of whom mar- ried a Presbyterian minister by the name of Frost, whom together with an im- married sister named Frances, are understood to be living. The youngest daughter Alida, who married a lawyer by the name of Melancthon W. Perine, is now dead. After removing to Glen's Falls, Capt. Berry was for a number of years largely engaged in getting out spars, round, and square timber from the West mountain and Luzerne. His lumber operations were from this time forth gradually ex- 29 226 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Elected. 1823. John Thomas, " Luther Johnson, " Bogardus Piersons, " Samuel Cook, 1824. Elias Hawley, " Alpheus Hawley, 1825. Solomon P. Goodrich, " Elnathan Parsons, 1826. Bogardus Piersons, " Roswell Weston, 1827. Charles G. Jones, " Sidney Berry, 1828. Horatio Buell, " Moody Ames, 1829. Sidney Berry, " Lewis Numan, " Samuel Estabrook, 1830. John L. Curtenius, " Sheldon Benedict, Elected. 1830. John Van Pelt, 1831. Lewis Numan, " Sidney Berry, 1832. Moody Ames, " Jonathan W. Freeman, " Fletcher Ransom, 1834. Sidney Berry, " Lewis Numan, " Sheldon Benedict, " George G. Hawley, 1825. Jonathan W. Freeman, " Alexander Folsom, 1836. Lewis Numan, " Sheldon Benedict, 1837. Sidney Berry. " George G. Hawley, " Billy J Clark, 1838. Billy J. Clark, " Jonathan W. Freeman, panded, great success attending his enterprises and ventures. He built and owned mills in Westport, and the vicinity of Paradox lake in Essex county, the lumber there manufactured finding its way to market via Lake Champlain, and the Northern canal, At the time of his death these operations were moving along on the flood tide of successful experiment. His estate, at the time of his decease, and probably not very economically managed at that, was inventoried and settled at up- wards of fifty thousand dollars, which, for those days was considered a large fortune. Mr. Berry was a man of great energy, probity and public spirit. He was an active and influential politician of the whig school, but never a place seeker or aspirant for political honors. He was a man of infinite humor and jest, and many anecdotes are still related of him, w'hicli establish his great shrewdness and originalty. In 1836, he commenced improving his large village property, built a culvert in the ravine down the long hill, through which, up to within a very recent period, the sewerage of the village found its outlet ; graded down the hill opposite his residence, and opened up Berry street, which still retains his name, and erected en- tirely at his own expense a brick building for a young ladies' seminary, which, for a number of years was very successful, and had a wide spread reputation. This building is now the property of school district No. 19. His remains were at first buried in the old grave yard on West street. Some two or three years ago they were exhumed and redeposited in the new cemetery. This place (as is to be hoped) of final sepulture, is marked by a plain marble shaft on which is inscribed the following unpretentious legend. Sidney Berry, Born September 12, 1783, Died May 5, 1839. THE CHURCHES. 227 Elected Elected. 1839. Lewis Numan, 1857. « Abraham Wing, u (1 George Cronkhite, 1858. 1840. George G. Hawley, 1859. (( Linus B. Barnes, (( 1841. Billy J. Clark, 1860. (( George Sanford, (C 1842. Lewis Numan, 1861. (( George Cronkhite, 1862. 1843. George G. Hawley, (( Linus B. Barnes, 1844. Halsey R. Wing, (( (( Alfred C. Farlin, (( 1845. Stevens Carpenter, 1863. (( Albert N. Cheney, a 1846. Ira A. Paddock, 1864. u Orville Cronkhite, 1865. 1847. Linus B. Barnes, (( Thomas J. Strong, 1848. James C. Clark, (( 1,1 Benjamin F. Shattuck. (( Number of Trustees reduced to Jive. 1866. 1849. Frederic A. Johnson, li 1850. Charles Rockwell, 1867. (( Linus B. Barnes, 1868. 1851. George Cronkhite, (( u George G. Hawley, 1869. (( Halsey E,. Wing, (( 1852. George Cronkhite, 1870. a Frederic A. Johnson, 1871. 1853. Linus B. Barnes, (( 1854. Halsey R. Wing, (( (( George G. Hawley, 1855. George Clendon jr., u Fred A. Johnson jr., 1872. 1856. Linus B. Barnes, (( (( Fred A. Johnson, (( Halsey R. Wing, George G. Hawley, George Clendon jr., Linus B. Barnes, Fred A. Johnson jr., Halsey R. Wing, George G. Hawley, George Clendon jr., Lewis L. Goodman, vice Geo. Clendon jr., gone to the war. Linus B. Barnes, Fred A. Johnson jr., Ezra Benedict, Archibald C Tearse, Stephen L. Goodman, Daniel Peck, vice Ezra Benedict re- moved from the place. Henry Crandell, Jerome Lapham, A. C. Tearse, Daniel Peck, Stephen L. Goodman, Henry Crandell, James A. Freligh, A. C. Tearse, Thos. S. Cooledge, Stephen L. Goodman, Henry Crandell, James A. Freligh, Martin Coffin, vice A. C. Tearse, re- moved from the place. Martin Coffin, M. L. Wilmarth, Thomas S. Cooledge. 228 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. UNION CHURCH OF EAST LAKE GEORGE. Through the instrumentality of Mr. C. L. North, of Brooklyn, and the aid and encouragement of several ladies and gentle- men, who were passing the heated term, at two or three places of summer resort in that vicinity, a Sunday school was organized in one of the school houses at East Lake George, in the summer of 1864. The following year, it was renewed with great vigor ; and another school in the vicinity was revived. Both were prospered to an unexpected degree, and, as opportunity presented, occa- sional services were held, sometimes under the shade of a tree, and sometimes in school houses, in this vicinity. This was the inception of an earnest movement toward the establishment of permanent religious services in this hitherto neglected neigh- borhood. A subscription paper was circulated (Mr. North contributing largely thereto, and Mr. Mattison giving the land), and a hand- some amount was raised for the purpose of building a church, the corner stone of which was laid with fitting services on the 5th of November, 1867. The building was completed and ded- icated the following season, and a society of forty members organized by the Rev. W. B. Lee, of Brooklyn, who from the first has been one of the chief promoters of the enterprise. This little church was at first committed to the pastoral charge of the Rev. James Lamb, now of Caldwell at the head of Lake George. The present incumbent is the Rev. Isaac See. A very pleasant and attractive feature connected with this organization is an anniversary pic-nic and festival held late in the summer, which is designed to gather all the children of the neighbor- hood, with visiting Sunday schools, for a season of recreation, and enjoyment. Some of these gatherings have been attended by over five thousand people. A handsome and commodious parsonage, which appears at the left of the church in the cut, has been erected, and a neat, substantial fence surrounds the entire enclosure. 'April, 1874. Since the above was compiled, a chanfje has again been made in the supply of the pulpit, and a pleasant school house added to the belongings of this church. \ , ^jr\i . ,. is5 «i,'. :, •^..jwiihlniinii.L.i. .illML.I ^"i-£t!:.'-iii:i 228 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURT 4 d UNION rnrT^cH of east lake george. Through lr.» ,,.., -■•.^ity of Mr. C. L. North, of Brooklyn, and the ^id and en sent of several ladies and gentle- men, who were leated. term, at two or three places of summer r- '-ity, a Sunday school was organized in one of th d East Lake George, in the summer Ofl' '1 - renewed with great vigor; and An< . was revived. Both were prospered f, and, as o occa- •.oUi, sometimes .,>.••. .i.^. ,,..... ^ i a tree, hool houses, in this vicinity. This waw the '11 oi an earnest movement toward the i sent of j,K;iinuaent religion^ services in this hithorU) ucj^,. .^^i neigh- borhood. A subscription paper wm- Mr. TJ^Torth contributing largely thereto, and Mr. N- .i. • • -. „ , ..jg the land), luui a hand- some amount was rai.s<.'d i /r the purpose of building a church, the corner stone of winch was laid with fitting services on the 5th of November, 1867. The building was completed and ded- icated the following season, and a society of forty members organized by the Rev. W. B. Lee, of Brooklyn, who from the first has been one of the chief promoters of the enterprise. This little church was at first committed to the pastoral charge of the Rev. James Lamb, now of Caldwell at the head of Lake George. The present incumbent is the Rev. Isaac See. Avery pleasant and attractive feature connected with thia on^aiuzation is an anniversary pic-nic and festival li whit^h is ,]-:•' ..♦v..„ ..t; <'.. ,,, hood, wii.. ..lion, and enjoyment. tSome oi these g.i oeen attended by over five thousand people. A ii.n. .»■.•;..<. aiid commodious parsonage, which appears at the loft of the church iu the cut, has been erected, and a neat, substantial fence surrounds the entire enclosure. • Mivo was coinpiltni, a change has again been made in ! a ]il Bishop Upfold, of the diocese of Indiana, died at his home in Indianapolis on Monday, the ■2fith of Auj^nst, 1872, in the Tfith year of his age. The following mention is made of him in MuDseirs Annals of Albany, vol. v, p. 39, March 11, 1813. "It was announced that a Sunday free school would be opened on Sunday, March 21, at the school room of George Upfold, in Van Tromp street, where several branches of English education would be taught from the hours of 6 to 8 in the morning, and 12 to 2 in the afternoon free of all expense. THE CHURCHES. 247 tice duly given according to Law for that purpose, at the time of Divine service on two Sunday mornings now last past, the male persons of full age belonging to such congregation or society worshipping in the village of Glen's Falls, in the county of Warren, and state of N'ew York, to wit, at the house of W. C. Carter, for the purpose of incorporating themselves under the act entitled an act to provide for the incorporation of Reli- gious Societies and acts to amend the same. At which meeting, and by a majority of voices the undersigned, John Alden Spooner, {a) being a deacon in the church, was called to the (a) Rev. John Alden Spooner, of puritan stock, and pilgrim ancestry, {having derived his name, and being of direct descent from the famous John Alden, of Mayflower memory) was born in Charlestown, Mass., 3d April, 1808. Following the migratory habits of Yankee land, his parents removed to Windsor, Vt. His academic instruction was received at St. Albans, Vt. , where, he was con- firmed by Bishop Griswold. His collegiate course was passed at the University of Vermont from which he received in due course his degree of master of arts. His preparation for the ministry was made at the General Theolog. Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal church in New York city, of which institution he became a graduate. He was ordained a deacon at St. Mark's church in the Bowery, in 1838, by the Rt. Rev. B. T. Onderdonk, bishop of the diocese. For a brief period, he officiated (in the absence of the rector abroad), at St. George's, Schen- ectady. After a short work devoted to the revival of the old parish at Fairfield, Vt., he received a call to the hitherto unoccupied field at Glen's Falls. His rela- tions to this parish are spoken of at large in the history of the church. During the interval of destitution at Glen's Falls namely in 1847, '8, '9, Mr. Spooner officiated as rector, first, of St. Luke's church at Mechanicsville, and after- ward of Grace church, Albany. In 1855, at the invitation of Bishop Whittingham, he removed to Baltimore, Md., and commenced an important missionary work in the western suburbs of the city on entirely new ground. Here, at the outbreak of the rebellion, he had secured the purchase of four acres of ground, pleasantly situated, whose vicinity was rapidly being built up by a thrifty population. These grounds, covered with a native growth of forest-trees, were substantially protected with fences. Within this enclosure had been erected a church, and a sexton's house. A school-house and a parsonage were among the prospective improvements to have been made. All of these buildings and improvements were utterly destroyed, and the grounds laid waste by the northern soldiery encamped in that neighborhood, after the raid of Fitzhugh Lee into Maryland. At this time, Mr. Spooner had accepted an appointment as chaplain in the army, in which capacity he was stationed for two years at the United States General Hospital at Point Lookout, Md. In this service, his health became seriously im- paired, and he was finally, for that reason, obliged to resign his position, and seek, in an extended tour to the north, a restoration to health. In 1866, he removed from Baltimore, to the village of Beverly, N. J., where, for a time, he has been in charge of two missionary stations, which, under his care, were materially advanced in Christian character, and temporal prosperity. Mr. Spooner has been the author and publisher of the following tracts and pamphlets, whose sharp, incisive style, and com])act, logical argument, have aroused hostile criticism, and contributed to perpetuate a clear, if not a friendly 248 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. chair and presided, and the undersigned, Eeyes P. Cool and William C. Carter, were nominated to certify the proceedings of said meeting in conjunction with the chairman, and by a majority of votes William C. Carter and N. Edson Sheldon were elected church wardens ; and William McDonald, Abra- ham Wing, Keyes P. Cool, Nehemiah Sheldon, Henry Philo, Walter Geer jr., George Sanford, and Orange Ferriss were elected vestrymen of said church. And Easter Monday in the week called Easter week was, in like manner fixed on as the day on which the said officers, church wardens and vestrymen shall annually thereafter cease, and their successor in office be chosen. And the name or title of the ' Rector, church war- dens, and vestrymen of the Church of the Messiah in the village of Glen's Falls,' in like manner fixed on and agreed to as that by which the said church, congregation or society shall be known in law. " In testimony whereof, we, John Alden Spooner, together with the undersigned Keyes P. Cool, and William C. Carter, have hereunto subscribed our names and affixed our seals this tenth day of February in the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred and forty. " John Alden Spooner, [l.s.] " Keyes P. Cool, [l.s.] " William C. Carter, [l.s.] " Signed and sealed in presence of, " Orange Ferriss, " ISTehemiah Shelden. " On the twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and forty, before me, Hiram Earber, first judge of the Court of Common Pleas in and for conviction of the nature of the cliurcli. 1st. Methodism as held by Wesley. ■2d. Sermon on the death of the Rev. Palmer Dyer. 3d. The Catholic saved from Popery. 4th. The Supremacy of the Pope disproved by Holy Scriptures. 5th. Bible Unity. Mr. Spooner is a representative man, of indomitable will, and energy, and un- flinchint? resolution and industry. He is one of the few who so believe in God, as not to fear what man can do unto them. His faith and opinions are well gfrounded. and fortified by the discriminating investigations of a ripe scholarship. He is gentlemanly and affable in his social intercourse, with a great deal of personal magnetism, which might have secured troops of friends and great popularity as a preacher, but for his independence of character and fixed determination never to acknowledge any true religion outside of the church. (.IIUKCII OF THE MESSIAH, (JLENS FALLS. J THE CHURCHES. 249 the county of Warreu, personally appeared Orange Ferriss of Qiieensbury, one of the subscribing witnesses to the above in- strument, who being duly sworn, did depose and say, that he was present and saw John Alden Spooner, Keyes P. Cool, and William C. Carter, whose names and seals are affixed to the foregoing certificate, sign and seal the same, and that the de- ponent, together with Nehemiah Sheldeu,did, in their presence, and at their request, subscribe the same as witnesses. " Hiram Barber. " I certify the preceding to be a true record of the original cer- tificate with the acknowledgement thereof, and examined and compared with the record being this 11th day of March, A.D., 1840. " Thomas Archibald, Clerk. " State of N'ew York 1 ^ County Clerk's Office, j I, Thomas Archibald, clerk of said county do certify that I have compared the foregoing copy of a certificate now remaining on record in this office, and that the same is a correct transcript of the record, and of the whole of said record. In testimony where- of, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the seal of the said county, this 19th day of May, 1857. "Thomas Archibald, Clerk." CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH, GLENS FALLS. On the eighteenth of August, 1840,^ the parish was visited by the Rt. Rev. Benj'n T. Ouderdonk, bishop of the diocese, who was accompanied by several of the neighboring clergy. In accordance with previous announcement, in the forenoon of that ' The followiug is taken from the Glen's Falls Spectator, of Aug. 13th, 1840. Subsequent to this announcement, a change was made in the place where the ex- ercises were to be held. " We are requested to give notice that Bishop Onderdonk will hold a visitation service in this village on Tuesday of next week the 18th inst. In the morning (services beginning at half past ten o'clock), the bishop will administer ordina- tion, conferring the order of the priesthood on the missionary of this parish, and, in the afternoon (services beginning at 3 o'clock) the rite of confii-mation will be administered by the bishop. A third service will be held in the evening at half past 7 o'clock. The services are to be held in the Methodist Church." 32 250 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. day, the imposing ceremony of ordination to the priesthood, was conferred upon the incumbent of the parish. In the after- noon, the rite of confirmation was received by fourteen persons in the presence of a large assemblage, who were interested wit- nesses of the novel and impressive ceremonial. The services on this memorable occasion, were held in the (Old White) Presbyterian church. About this time, the parish of St. James, at Fort Edward, was established, and Zion church, on Sandy Hill, revived and reor- ganized. These, with the church at Glen's Falls, constituted a missionary station under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Mr. Spooner, who held services alternately, one Sunday at Glen's Falls, and the next at Sandy Hill and Fort Edward.^ Owing to various causes, the remembrance of which it is not worth while to perpetuate in history, a feeling of rancor- ous, and active hostility to the church commenced soon after these events, and rapidly developing with the dank and noisome growth, which feeds upon calumny, and unreasoning hate, it speedily pervaded all classes of community. This antagonism did not always restrict itself to an apathetic indifference, or the moderate expression of adverse sentiments, but, adding fuel to flames already aglow, there were not Avauting overt acts of oppression, which, in some instances assumed the character- istics of unrelenting persecution. Unhappy differences also arose within the fold, between the pastor, and his people, by reason of which, many withdrew from its communion never to return. Church members and sectaries no longer fraternized. Meeting houses were closed against the diminished band of worshippers, who, the succeeding winter, assembled fortnightly, for the purposes of worship in an old school room, one while ' In the Journal of the convention of tlie diocese of New York for 1840 " the Rev. John A. Spooner, missionary at Glen's Falls," reports as follow : " Remarks. I have had charge of this missionary station since 19th January last. Besides Glen's Falls and Sandy Hill, the station includes Fort Edward. The report for Fort Edward (no organization having yet been ejffected there), is included in that of Sandy Hill. " In one short mi.ssion northwards from my station, I held services at Ticonderoga, Warrensburgh, Chester, and Minerva ; at Minerva, 40 miles from Glen's Falls, I baptized two children not included in the above reports. In addition to my regu- lar Sunday services, I occupied, two weeks previous to the visit of the bishop, for confirmation , every evening in one week at Glen's Falls, and every evening of the other at Sandy Hill, in lectures on the order and holiness of the Church." On the 30th of Sept., 1849, the church being reported as regularly incorporated according to law was admitted into union with the convention. THE CHURCHES. 251 used as a printing office, on Park street.^ It was emphatically *' the little church around the corner." ^ For a year or more following, the services were held at pri- vate dwellings, the rector's support being chiefly derived from the missionary stipend, and the meagre Sunday contributions of the feeble band of followers. In the face of these discouraging conditions, money was col- lected, a building lot purchased, on Ridge street, opposite the school house of District No. 2, and an unpretentious chapel was built, which, for a period of nearly twenty-five years, served the congregation as a place of worship. In the journal of the Diocesan Convention for 1844, Mr. Spooner reports as follows. " By the blessing of God, a church edifice at Glen's Falls is so nearly completed, that it has been occupied with comfort most of the year past. It is the first and only church edifice in Warren county; its sittings are/ree; and its font, which is near the porch door, is so constructed as to admit of immersing either children or adults." In a supplement- ary statement, he adds that services are held regularly once a month in the adjoining towns of Argyle, "Wilton, Fortsville and Moreau. About this time, a plan was projected to establish parochial schools in each of the three associated parishes. The one at Glen's Falls, was established on the south side of the river in the little village now known as South Glen's Falls. Mr. Charles H. Beach, now a merchant of Sandy Hill, organized a similar school at Fort Edward. These schools speedily attained a de- servedly exalted reputation for the excellence of their manage- ment, and the superiority of their intellectual culture. During these years of struggle and penury, the general efficiency and prosperity of the church, and particularly in this diocese, had become greatly impaired by reason of the unhappy ' Immediately previous to tliis tlie services had been lield for a season in the Ladies' Seminary, now the school house of Dist. No. 19. The Sunday schools were held in the basement of the same building. . ^ In his report for 1841, the bishop states that " in the evening, for the parish of the church of the Messiah, preached in the Presbyterian meeting house. Glen's Falls, Warren county." It will be borne in mind, however, that this was an ex- ceptional service. In the bishop's report, contained in the journal of the convention for 1843, he says : " Friday 12, (May) confirmed for the parishes of Zion church, Sandy Hill, and the church of the Messiah, Glen's Falls, Warren county, 7 in the Methodist meeting house, Fort Edward." 252 HISTORY OF TEE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. events and controversies, whicli finally resulted in the suspen- sion of Bishop Onderdonk from the functions of the Episcopate and ministry. This took place on the third of January, 1845, and, from that time, until the election of the Right Rev. Jona- than M. Wainright, as provisional bishop of the diocese in September, 1852, no returns appear upon the Journals of the Convention, due, it is said, to a canon, or regulation, which pro- vides that all parochial reports shall be made directly to the bishop. By reason of this unfortunate restriction, and the loss of the church records by fire in the great conflagration of 1864, the statistics of the church, for this period are defective, and unsatisfactory. In the spring of 1846, the Rev. Samuel B. Bostwick {a) and Henry McVickar, were appointed adjunct or assistant ministers (a) The Rev. Samuel B. Bostwick, S. T. D. , was born in the town of Jericho, Vt., on the 15th of March, 1815. He was of English extraction ; his ancestors, who immigrated in 1668, being members of the church of England, and four of their descendants have been clergymen of the Episcopal church, two of whom are still living. His father, Arthur Bostwick, was born in Manchester, Vt., in 1778, and removed in early life to Jericho, where he died at the advanced age of 88 years. The subject of this sketch, entered the University of Vermont at Burlington, in 1831, and graduated in August, 1835. He received his degree as Master of Arts, from this institution in 1838, and in 1867, Columbia College, N. Y., conferred upon him the degree of S. T. D. He became a candidate for Holy Orders, in the diocese of Vermont, and entered the General Theological Seminary, in New York, in October, 1839. Through failure of health, he was obliged to discontinue his seminary course at the end of the second year. The remainder of the theological studies were pursued under the direction of the Right Rev. Bishop Hopkins, of Vermont, by whom he was admitted to the diaconate, at St. Paul's chiirch in Burlington, 27th February, 1843. The order of priesthood was received at the same hands, on the 15th September, following, at Trinity church, Rutland. The first two years of his ministry were spent in missionary labors in his native place and its neighborhood. In 1844, he accepted a call to St. Thomas' church, Brandon, Vt., where he remained two years. His connection with the church of the Messiah, Glen's Falls, commenced in April, 1846. During the existence of that relation, he resided at Sandy Hill, where he opened a select school, from which he derived a large portion of his support. He relinquished the parish at Glen's Falls in 1847, but retained charge of the other two above named until June, 1870, when he resigned the rectorship of St. James' church, Fort Edward, and has since restricted his labors to the parish at Sandy Hill. In a communication to the author, Mr. Bostwick thus sums up the result of hia labors. " During the quarter of a century that has elapsed since my first connection with the church of the ISIessiah, Glen's Falls, I have seen a gratifying increase of the cliurch, in the mission field which we then occupied. We then constituted an associaU; mission, and our field extended frorh Warrensburgh on the north, to Salem, Union villag(,', and Schuylerville on the south. Instead of three extremely feel)le missionary stations, there are eight organized parishes, eight clergymen \ THE CHURCHES. 253 of the three parishes. Some little time previously to this event the Rev. Mr. Spooner had removed to Fort Edward, where, for two or three years, his indefatigable energies, found occupation in the management of a parish school, the purchase of a very desirable plot of ground, and the erection of a substantial church edifice. In the report of the missionary committee for the same year, the Rev. S. B. Bostwick, is stated to have the charge of the parish at Glen's Falls. In pursuance of the plan already indicated, Mr. Bostwick made his home at Sandy Hill, and there commenced the instruc- tion of a classical school, which was maintained for a period of nearly twenty years, with a wide spread repute for superior excellence and usefulness. Its instrumentality for good, wnll doubtless be a comfort and consolation, to this most amiable pastor and teacher during his declining years ; and the conscious- ness of such life long devotion to his master's work, may well serve to illuminate the valley of dark shadows, in his journey across to the better land. The school previously established by Mr. Spooner at South Glen's Falls, passed at the same time, into the hands of the Rev. Henry McVickar, (a) a young gentleman, just admitted to orders, are serving them, ten new churches have been built, and another is in progress, ■while many other points in the field, are furnished with occasional services. Seven young men, now, or heretofore connected with my two parishes, have entered upon a preparation for the sacred ministry, two of whom are already ordained. Four faithful women have gone to the missionary field, one to China, one to the Sand- wich Islands, and two to the Western Indians. As time wears on, and the end approaches, I cannot be suificiently thankful that the Lord has called me to labor in his vineyard, and that He has given me some tokens of his favor to encourage me in the arduous work." (a) HENRy McVickar, son of the late professor John McVickar of Columbia Col- lege, N. Y. , was born at Hyde Park in Dutchessco., N. Y., in 1817. He graduated with honors from Columbia College in 1836. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1840, after a year spent in travel in Europe and the East. For a brief period he practiced law in New York, and afterward in Michigan. His earnest, and de- vout mind, however, was not contented outside of the ministry, and he returned once more to New York, and entered the Theological Seminary. He became an alumnus of that institution, was ordained by the Right Rev. Bishop McCoskry in 1846, and, at once went to Glen's Falls, and engaged heartily and zealously in the laborious missionary work of that neighborhood. During his brief stay at this point, he instituted services at Caldwell, Lake George, and founded the church at Warrensburgh, besides being continually engaged in the exhaustive labors inci- dent to the instruction of a parish school. The severe climate, and earnest zeal in the discharge of his duties, broke down his health, and laid the foundation of a pulmonary affection from which he never recovered. At the termination of his year in Glen's Falls, he went to the south, and spent two winters, doing missionary 254 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. fresh from the schools; and of singular loveliness of character, whose purity of life and Christian deportment, have embalmed his memory with the odor of sanctity, in the hearts of his par- ishioners. The school was conducted with great acceptance and gave promise at one time of obtaining a permanent foundation. The services in the three parishes, were held alternately by the three clergymen associated in the mission. As an evidence of their devotion to the work, it may be stated that this labo- rious interchange of duties was mainly performed on foot, and often at unpropitious seasons and in inclement weather. The relations subsisting between the three parishes, continued until the spring of 1847, when the Sandy Hill and Fort Edward churches dissolved their connection with that at Glen's Falls, and extended a call to the Rev. S. B. Bostwick to become their pastor. For nearly a quarter of a century, he has retained this charge, with the unabated respect and afiection of his people. The same year (1847), the Rev. John A. Spooner is returned in the records of the convention, as rector of St. Luke's church Mechanicsville, and the joint missionary station of Glen's Falls and Luzerne is reported as vacant. Notwithstanding this rectorship at Mechanicsville, and his subsequent charge of Grace church in Albany, Mr. Spooner re- tained a quasi relation and charge over this virtually vacant parish, until the month of September, 1851, when he formally tendered his resignation, which was accepted by the vestry. work in Florida, and North Carolina, founding the church at Marianna in the former diocese, and devoting himself especially to the improvement of the blacks. Ha\'ing at last become the undoubted prey of consumption, he returned to the north, and passed the last two years of his wasting life amidst the surroundings of home, and the sustaining presence of loving friends. Even then he was not idle, but was systematically engaged in study, and the writing of tracts, essays, and articles for the church publications of the day. He died at Morristown, N. J., in 1852, beloved and lamented by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. One writing from the south, who had lived in the same house, and known him all one winter, says in a letter of condolence to his friends, " it was my good for- tune to know your departed brother, the Rev. Henry McVickar, whom to know was but to love ; and although 1 have known many saintly characters, many pure and holy ones of this earth, still, 1 have always thought, since I learned to know him, that I have never met one so holy, so free from gross alloy, so meet for Heaven." This estimate of his character, will doubtless meet the hearty con- currence and apprcA-al of the few now remaining, who remember the modest, un- assuming, yet gifted messenger of Christ's gospel, who once ministered at Glen's Falls. THE CHURCHES. 255 On Easter Monday (12th April), 1852, the Rev. Mr. Bostwick, by invitation, officiated at morning prayers in the chapel, and, due notice having been previously given, a new election, the first for six years, was held for wardens and vestrymen. On the 18th of May following, a vestry meeting was convened, at which, it was " resolved that the Rev. William George Haw- kins be engaged as minister of this parish for the ensuing year,*' at a salary of three hundred dollars a year, and a donation, in addition to the missionary stipend. When the connection between the Rev. Mr. Spoonerand this parish was discontinued, he declined to surrender the possession of the chapel, and other church property, on the score of arrear- ages of salary. The congregation was consequently obliged to look elsewhere for a place of worship. This state of affairs re- sulted in hiring, for the time being, the use of the house of worship, belonging to the Universalists, a building since de- stroyed in the great fire of 1864, and which then stood on a plot of ground now owned and occupied by Judge Rosekrans, facing Warren street. Legal proceedings were promptly instituted by the vestry, for the recovery and possession of the church property. The points in controversy were finally referred to the Hon. Alonzo C. Paige of Schenectady, and his decision, which was rendered in June, 1853, and which was final as regarded further litigation, was substantially in favor of the parish. During the same season the old chapel was repaired and in the autumn following, and until Mr. Hawkins's connection with the parish ceased, the ser- vices were continuously held therein. Mr. Hawkins (a) remained in charge of the parish until the first of December, 1855. During that period of time, the chapel (a) William George Hawkins, only son of John H. W. Hawkins, the celebrated Washingtonian, and temperance reformer, was born at Baltimore, Md., on the 32d of October, 1823. His mother's name was Rachel, daughter of Joseph Thompson of the same city. The wonderful conversion of his father in 1840, to a life of great usefulness, changed the son's whole course in life from the career of an errand boy in a grocery and liquor store, to a student at the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Mass., where, with his two (only) sisters he matriculated in 1843. He entered the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn. (Dr. Stephen Olin, pres't), in 1844, and graduated therefrom in 1848. In the fall of the same year, he entered the Theological Seminary of the Episcopal church in Fairfax co., Va., over which Bishop Meade, of that diocese, had the principal oversight. Having completed a three years' course at that institution, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Meade, and called in 1851 to the rectorship of St. Paul's church, Centreville, Md. By rea- son of a failure in his health, he determined to seek an engagement at the north 256 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. was repaired, a church lot contracted for, aod secured, and the work of building the new church commenced. The corner stone of this substantial and costly structure was laid on Monday, the 12th of June, 1854, by the Right Rev. Jonathan M. Wain- wright, bishop of the diocese. Bishop Otey, of Tennessee, being present and delivering an address on the occasion. In this time, Mr. Hawkins made two extended visitations to the larger cities of the diocese, in solicitation of funds, with which to carry for- ward the church work. In this way, several thousand dollars were realized, with which to strengthen the slender resources of the parish. This laborious enterprise, which had been under- taken by Mr. Hawkins in addition to the ordinary parochial work, added to the arduous responsibilities of the school, which, under his management, speedily attained a magnitude and in the fall of 1852, was appointed by the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese of New York, to the charge of the parish at Glen's Falls. In August, 1856, he was called to St. John's church, Pequa, Lancaster co.. Pa., where he continued teaching ^\ith success an English and Classical school for boys, similar to the one conducted at South Glen's Falls. On the death of his father at his residence in Pequa, Pa., in August, 1858, he removed to Cambridge, Mass., where he devoted some months to writing out the life of that distinguished advocate of temperance. This work has already passed through seven editions. In 1860, he was called to the charge of St. John's church, Wilkinsonville ; in 1863, wrote the Life of Linsford Lane, or Another Helper from North Carolina, (304 pp. 2000 vols., sold). Removed about the same time to Worcester, Mass., to take the general charge of the missionary work of the diocese of Massachusetts, established three new parishes all at present doing well, viz : Christ church, Fitch- burg, Trinity church, Milford, and Grace church, Oxford, Mass. In 1864, he was called to the secretaryship of the National Freedman's Relief Association, and in that connection projected and edited for three years its organ The National Freed- man, was also a working member of the committee on teachers and publications, and during the above three years, selected and sent into the South over three hundred teachers, male and female ; organized under his own personal supervision the graded schools at Washington, D. C, Norfolk, Va., Richmond, Va. , and Raleigh, N. C, and wrote a brief history of the Freedman's Commission, of which 20,000 copies were circulated as a tract. In 1865 removed to an estate at Rippon Hall, York co.,'Va., which was purcliased and presented by personal friends. Here he resided for sixteen months during which interval, he was appointed Registrar of Froedmen, of the 3d district of York co. , by Major Gen. Schofield, the registration office being- at Fort McG ruder. In April, 1868, he removed to Chambcrsburgh, Pa. , where he organized Trinity church, purchased a parsonage and lots, and erected a church, (a stone gothic edi. fice) at an aggregate cost of about $18,000. To this, it is in contemplation to add a female seminary as soon as means and opportunity shall permit. The Rev. Mr. Hawkins is still in the prime and vigor of an activ.e manhood, whose energetic usefulness gives promise of a long future, replete with the mani- fold works of a matured j iidgment, sustained and incited by a Christain thoughtful- ness for the welfare of others and the progress of Divine truth. THE CHURCHES. 257 and prosperity both flattering and remunerative, bears cumu- lative testimony both to Mr. Hawkins's efficiency as a pastor, and devotion to the work in which he was engaged. About this time Mr. James E. Kenney, a resident of this place, and communicant of the church, commenced studying for the ministry with Mr. Hawkins, being also associated with him in the instruction and management of the school. Early in the fall of 1855, Mr. Hawkins tendered his resigna- tion, to take effect on the first of December following. This was accepted by the vestry on the 14th of September. The interim was passed in negotiations which resulted in the call of the Rev. Louis Legrand ]Sroble,(a) a clergyman of distinguished talents and ability. He assumed charge of the parish, about the first of January, 1856. At that time, work had been sus- pended on the new church building, the walls having been carried up a short distance only above the basement story. Heavy debts had been incurred in the prosecution of this un- dertaking. These remained like an incubus upon the feeble parish, paralyzing all efforts. Through Mr. Noble's active per- sonal solicitations, chiefly made in New York city, the greater portion of these debts were liquidated, or means and methods (a) " The Rev. Louis Legrand Noble was born in 1813 in the valley of the Butter- nut creek in Otsego county, in New York. While he was a youth his father removed to the banks of the Wacamutquiock, now called the Huron, a small river in Michi- gan, and there, among scenes of remarkable wildness and beauty, he passed most of his time until the commencement of his college life. In a letter to me, he saya : ' I was ever under a strong impulse to imbody'iu language my thoughts, feelings, fancies, as they sprang up in the presence of the rude but beautiful things around me ; the prairies on fire, the sparkling lakes, the park-like forests, the Indians on ■ the hunt, guiding their frail canoes amid the rapids, or standing at night in the red light of their festival fires, I breathed the air of poetry.' " Mr. Noble was admitted to orders in the Protestant Episcopal church, in 1840. His principal poetical work is Ne-mah-min, an Indian story, in three cantos, in which he has made good use of his experience of forest life." The foregoing is copied from Griswold's Poets and Poetry of America, written nearly thirty years ago. Since that time, Mr. Noble has committed several volumes to the press, both of poetry and prose. Among the number may be named The Life of Cole the Artist, a friend and companion of his early years. Mr. Noble is now stationed at Hudson, N. J., where for a number of years he has been in charge of the Episcopal church, beloved by his parishioners and honored, and respected by an extensive circle of friends and acquaintances. He is a most genial friend and companion, a powerful writer, and impassioned sermonizer, emotional and impressive, quick to arouse the sympathies and touch the hearts of his auditory, and judging from probabilities, has still a long career of usefulness, and Christian influence before him. 33 * 258 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. provided for their extinguishment during the short period of his incumbency. Trinity church, alone, contributed two thou- sand dollars at this time, taking a lien upon the church for security, with a view to ensure its perpetuity, and that the bene- faction should not be diverted to other uses. The dilapidated condition of the old chapel, rendered it im- peratively necessary that it should be thoroughly overhauled and repaired. A new roof was put on, the walls papered, the seats and other wood work painted, and other necessary repairs effected. In the mean time, before this renovation was com- pleted, the Universalist church was again rented for another year, and the services were conducted therein, until the condition of the chapel, improved by the repairs above named, was such that the congregation was enabled to resume its devotions there, and from that time forward until the completion of the new church, and the sale of the old one, the services were held with but slight interruption, in this revered and time honored place. The cost of these repairs was defrayed by the Ladies' Aid Society of the church, to whose self sacrificing efforts and labor- ' ious zeal, much of the success of the church enterprises in this parish have been due. During a period of about fifteen years, dating from the reorganization of the church in 1852, an ener- getic and devoted band of women, scarcely a dozen in number, but brave with a spirit of Christian devotion, earned in various ways of hard working industry, a sum amounting to nearly, if not quite five thousand dollars, which whenever, and whatever the financial pinch might be, was always promptly available, and forthcoming to meet the needs of the pastor, the vestry, or the church, whenever a call was made or the occasion demanded. Deficiencies in ministers' salaries, repairs of chapel, delinquent bank notes given by the building committee for work or mate- rial, and finally a large amount expended in finishing the in- terior of the new church, were among the channels of usefulness, to which this steady and unfailing stream of endeavor was applied A passing tribute to the worth and excellence of these Christian women, is without doubt worthy of commemoration in the annals of the church they helped to build. During the greater proportion of the period of Mr. Noble's ministrations here, and, at his request, the Rev. John H. Babcock, a minister of the church, who was at the same time principal of the Glen's Falls Academy, was called by the vestry to the position of as- THE CHURCHES. 259 sistant minister of the parish. In this capacity, he aided the rector in his services, besides officiating as missionary in visit- ing, and conducting worship at several contiguous points. Messrs. !N"oble, and Babcock, (a) terminated their connection with the parish by resignation in June, 1857. In their brief tarrying here, each of these efficient ministers and accompUshed gentlemen, won for themselves a large measure of' the esteem and attachment of the people. Nearly a year elapsed before the parish was again regularly supplied, occasional services being held by Rev. Mr. Kenney, who had just been admitted to the diaconate, and other neigh- boring clergyman. In the mean time, negotiations were carried forward with the bishop, and the missionary committee of the diocese, with a view to secure the services of another pastor. This correspondence resulted in the call, and engagement, of the Rev. Henry H. Bates, of the diocese of Connecticut, who removed hither with his family, and commenced his pastoral duties on the first of May, 1858. For a term of three years, his fidelity to the trusts thus assumed, his discretion and judgment, and Christain forbearance and charity, conspired to place the church on a prosperous footing, and to secure for himself the cordial good will, and respect of the entire community. During his pastorate, another subscription was raised, the balance of indebtedness cleared off", and the walls of the church carried up a stage further towards completion. On the 7th of June, 1859, the Rev. James E. Kenney, who had already served the church during its period of destitution, was called by the vestry to act as assistant minister of the parish without salary, his only compensation for his services being the missionary stipend. The balance of his support was derived from the maintenance of the English and Classical school on the (a) The Rev. John H. Babcock,'M. A. , the third son of Deodatus Babcock, D. D. , and Mary, {nee Hine) his wife, was born at Ballston Spa, N. Y., 11th Aug., 1826. He passed three years of an academical course under the supervision of the Rev. Dr. Hawks, at St. Thomas' Hall, Flushing, L. I. Graduated at Union College, July 1845, was ordained to the diaconate in 1853. Assisted his father, as a teacher in the Ballston Spa Institute, from 1846 to 1856, received to the priesthood the latter year. Took charge of the Glen's Falls Academy from May, 1856, to August, 1857, principal of Cheshire Academy, Conn., from Sept., 1857, to Sept., 1861 : Principal of Yeates Institute, Lancaster, Penn., from Sept., 1862, to April, 1864 ; missionary in Minnesota, and Wisconsin, Oct., 1864, to Sept., 1867.. Since then he has been engaged in teaching or ministerial work in the state of New York. Since May ist, 1871, he has been occupied in parish work in Tioga co., Penn., where he is now located. 260 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. south side of the river already spoken of, in connection with Mr. Hawkins's ministrations.' During tlie greater portion of Mr. Bates's sojourn here, this parish was associated with the missionary station of St. James' church, Caldwell, and the Rev. Mr. Kenney contributed largely of his valuable aid in main- taining the mission services. In 1860, the chapel was once more repaired, papered and painted. The same year, the building committee reported to the vestry, " that but little had been done towards completing the new church building." Early in the spring of 1861, the church at Caldwell signified its intention of severing the connection hitherto maintained with this parish, and, for a while afterward, it was associated with the church at Warreusburgh in the employment of a clergyman. Upon the outbreak of the rebellion in 1861, the Rev. Mr. Bates (a) was oftered, and finally accepted the position of chaplain ■ " The present incumbent took the charge of this congregation, on the first week in May ; previous to which time, for the conventional year, the services were con- ducted by the Rev. James Kenney, deacon, who has also, for several months past, rendered us aid in our services in St. James' parish, Caldwell, and for the most part without compensation. — Extracts from Rev. H. H. Bates's report. Journal of Diocesan Convention, for 1858. (a) Henry H. Bates was born in the town of Benson, Rutland co., Vt., on the 23d November, 1808. Here in the secluded quiet of a rural neighborhood, with scant advantages in the way of education or mental culture, he passed his child- hood and youth. Stirred by those brave impulses which seem to germinate with uncommon thrift in the Yankee breast, at his majority he pushed out to acquire an education, and fit himself for the great, earnest struggle of life. His preparatory studies were pursued mainly at the Phillips' Academy, Andover, Mass. Of the difficulties he had to surmount, and the trials and struggles to which he was subjected in those early days, we get only a brief hint. His colle- giate course was commenced in 1832, at Union College, Schenectady, and ter- minated in 1836, graduating with honor. Two years of his theological course were spent at the General Theological Seminary New York. The third year of his divinity studies was completed at Northampton, Mass. He was admitted to dea- con's orders in the city of Boston, Mass., in 1839, being ordained by the Rt. Rev. Alexander Viets Griswold, bishop of what was styled the eastern diocese. Mr. Bates's ministerial career was commenced immediately afterward, at Blan- ford, Hampden co., Mass., where, in 1841, he was ordained to the priesthood by the same venerable prelate. In 1840, he was married to Miss Eunice S. Bascom of Orwell, Vt., by whom he had two sons and one daughter. In 1844, he received a call, and removed to Warehouse Point, Hartford co.. Conn., where he rapidly built a thriving parish, and large congregation, by his industry, zeal and tact, many still living bearing witness to his faithfulness and efficiency. In 1852, he removed to TarriflFville, in the same county, and state, where he bviilt up another new parish, in the heart of a manufacturing village, whose chief population consisted of laborers and operatives. In this respect, his success was THE CHURCHES. 261 of the 22d Reg't N". Y. Vols., three companies of which were raised in this vicinity. The regiment was commanded by Walter Phelps jr., a parishioner and member of the vestry. During the autumn next ensuing, services were held for six or eight weeks by a Rev. Mr. Van Antwerp, a candidate for the vacant pulpit. His irregularities of conduct were such as would reflect little credit to himself or honor upon the church, and he was at length quietly got rid of. He was subsequently deposed from the ministry, for conduct debasing, and unworthy his sacred calling. In view of the destitute condition of the church, and, in order that the vestry might in no degree be hampered by the nominal relations existing between them, Mr. Bates tendered his resig- nation of the parish here, while the regiment to which he was attached, was still in barracks at Albany. This was brought before the congregation, at a special meeting convened on the so striking, that when, in the winter of '57-8 applications was made to the mis- sionary committee of the diocese for a recommendation of some clergyman suited to the wants of this parish, the name of Mr. Bates was promptly suggested and heartily endorsed by the bishop, as the man preeminently fitted for the place if his services could be secured. Mr. Bates assumed the rectorship of this parish in May, 1858, and from that date, until May, 1861 ; he was assiduously, earnestly, and industriouslj^ devoted to the interests of the parish. A large debt which had been incurred in carrying up the walls of the present church edifice, was paid off, and the way thoroughly cleared for the completion of the building at a more favorable moment. The financial crisis of '57, had but just passed by, and this, like many other manufac- turing villages, had its energies paralyzed and its industries crippled to that ex- tent, that, for the time being, an attempt to complete the church would have been impolitic and injudicious. During Mr. Bates's ministry here, the accessions to the church were numerous, and its prospects flourishing. While in the midst of his success, looked up to, and beloved on every hand, the nation was suddenly convulsed with the throes of civil war. Sumter was attacked, and simultaneously, the united North arose as one man to the defense, the maintenance, the salvation of our government. In response to the call for troops the 32d Regt. N. Y. Vols., sprung into ex- istence, and within two weeks of its organization the chaplaincy was tendered to, and accepted by Mr. Bates. Throwing aside all questions of ease and personal comfort, he went forward to the field with the regiment, and from that time until it was mustered out at Albany, Mr. Bates probably passed more time with the regiment and participated more thoroughly in its vicissitudes and hardships and dangers, than any other oificer either field, line or staff. It is not my purpose in this place, to recapitulate the deeds and sufferings of the 23d Regiment, but it may be appropriately stated , that many of its survivors from the fields of Gainesville, 2d Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericsburg and Chancellorsville, have reason to remember with gratitude, the kindness and attention, the indefatigable labors, and earnest devotion of their chaplan, while in camp and quarters, Ther e was not a day but 262 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. 9th of Jane, 1861, on which occasion, a series of resolutions was adopted, expressing in handsome terms, its- appreciation of Mr. Bates's services and patriotism, but declining for the present to act upon his proposition. This resignation was renewed, and accepted in June, the fol- lowing year, and on the 12th of July, 1862, the Rev. Edwin E. Butler, was called to the vacancy, and remained uninterruptedly in charge to July, 1871, at which time his resignation was ac- cepted. During two or three years of this period, the Rev. J. A. Russell, a presbyter of the church, being at the time principal of the Glen's Falls Academy, occasionally officiated in the absence of the rector, and in a few instances on other occasions, assisted in the ministrations. In the journal of the convention for 1863, Mr. Butler reports that the " stone church commenced in 1854, is nearly completed. * * * Within the past six months, the parish has raised the sum of $6,500 for its completion." Nevertheless, the work crept along as it were at a snail's pace. The church was but little more than enclosed at this time; and it remained for nearly two years longer in an unoccupied state. Over eleven years had now elapsed since the ground was broken and work commenced. Through the active exertions of the building committee in the fall of 1865, a vigorous and finally successful movement was instituted to complete the build- ing. Fresh subscriptions were made, the contract taken, and the work rapidly pushed forward to its consummation. The first service conducted in the new edifice was the marriage of what he was busy in some genial act of charity, writing letters for the boys, visit- ing the sick in hospital, sending money home to the waiting wives, and a thousand nameless acts of goodness, scarcely appreciated at the time, but which contribute largely to make up the Christi,an life. The remains of the 23d Regiment were mustered out at Albany on .the 17th of June, 1863, and Mr. Bates returned to the quiet walks of his ministerial duties in civil life. Through his patriotism he had lost his parish here, but another opening very speedily presented. For in the month of July following, he assumed the rector- sliip of St. Paul's church, Oak Hill, Greene co., N. Y., where he remained until the time of his death, which occurred on the 14th of January, 1868. His final ill- ness was brief, but little more than a week elapsing from the date of his attack to the time of his death, although his liealth had been giving away for the last two or three months of his life. His last sermon was preached on Christmas day, up to which time he had i^erformed all his parochial and ministerial duties in full, and thus, with his armor on, almost to the very verge of life, he passed away to his reward. THE CHURCHES. 263 Mr. James "W. Schenck, one of the building committee, and vestrj. The church was formally consecrated in June, 1866, by the Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, bishop of the diocese, assisted by a large number of visiting and neighboring clergy. In 1867, a committee was appointed at the diocesan conven- tion, which reported in favor of a division of the diocese. The following year the preliminary steps were taken, and the act of separation finally consummated, by which the diocese of Albany, was erected. It is greatly hoped that this act will work salutary results for the smaller and feebler parishes. On the 29th of May, 1869, the Hon. Stephen Brown, in be- half of the executors of the estate of John J. Harris, deceased, oft'ered the vestry a deed of gift of a fine stone chapel, situated near his late residence at Harrisena, in the north part of Queens- bury. This structure was built up in great degree of the beautiful Ottawa limestone, imported by the founder, specially for the purpose, from Canada. Its erection and completion was one of the last acts of the testator's life ; his funeral the first service held within its walls. (Sunday, March 14th, 1869.) On the 3d of July following, the gift was formally accepted by a vote of the vestry. Six days later the building was conse- crated by the bishop of the diocese, several of the neighboring clergyman being present and assisting in the ceremonial. Since that date up to the first of July, 1871, services have been held regularly during the summer months on every alternate Sunday afternoon, in this little chapel, by the rector in charge of the church at Glen's Falls. On the 17th of July, 1869, the vestry passed a vote relinquish- ing the missionary stipend, of which this parish had been nearly a constant beneficiary from the beginning ; and in addition to which, large appropriations have been received from time to time from the Parochial Aid Society, and the Northern Con- vocation, for the maintenance of the services. Thus for the first time, during all these years, and without any appreciable increase in the wealth, resources or membership, the church became self supporting; and though still feeble, and weak, yet with a substantial if not attractive church edifice, and no debt to hamper or impair its energies, it is to be hoped that its clay of grace and prosperity is not now far removed. 264 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. The statistics of the church will be found annexed in a tabu- lated form. Supplementary to the foregoing, which was written some years since, the writer considers it proper to add that Rev. Mr. Butler's relations to the parish were dissolved by his resignation on the 20th of June, 1871, taking effect on the first of July following. For two years, the church languished without a pastor. Occasional services were held by neighboring and visit- ing clergymen. An attempt was made in the fall and winter of 1872 to establish lay services. Through the kindness and laborious efforts of the Rev. Mr. Cookson of Fort Edward, lenten services were held in the spring of 1873, and two were con- firmed at the bishop's next visitation. During all this period, negotiations, more or less actively prosecuted, were in progress with various clergymen to till the vacant pulpit. The vestry were critical, and the outlook in a run down parish, with a people difficult to please, was not so enticing to the clergy, that there was much of a scramble for the vacant pulpit. At length, however, the man for the place was found, and a formal call was made and accepted by the Rev. Russell A. Olin(a) of Manlius, Onondaga co., N. Y., who (a) Russell A. Olin was born in the town of Madrid, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., on the 22d of January, 1839. His mother died when he was but three years of age. His father followed the pursuit of farming. When the subject of this sketch was nine years of age his father married again, after which, the child sojourned awhile with relations in the adjoining town of Canton, finding his home with various connections and friends in the vicinity, up to his twentieth year. From his thirteenth year, he taught in the district schools, and the village academy, winters, working at farm labor, or attending school, during the summers, until the fall of 1859, when he entered Brown University, Providence, R. I. Here he remained for nearly two years, when he left college for a while to teach. For a few months following, he held an appointment as tutor in a private family. Succeeding this engagement, he was induced to accept a position as teacher of mathematics in Burlington College, New Jersey, which he held for nearly two years. In the summer of 1863, he enlisted as a private in the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry, a regiment, esteemed in Philadelphia, much as the seventh is in New York city. He was in active service in Kentucky and Tennessee, participating in the battle of Stone River, Dec. 30, Jan. 1st, 1863. After this, in consequence of ill health, he was detailed for light duty at Brigade head quarters in Nashville, and for the same reason, was discharged from the ser- vice during the following month. Having recovered sufficiently to admit of resuming his studies, he entered Ho- bart College the following May, last term sophomore, and graduated with first honor, in July, 1865. Became candidate for holy orders in the Protestant Episcopal church. While studying for the ministry, he held the position of first assistant teacher in De Veaux College for boys. Suspension Bridge, N. Y. THE CHURCHES. 265 came in the early summer of 1873, and removed with his family to the parish, in the early part of July following. Since then, the services of the church have been systematically and regu- larly conducted, and services established with steadily increasing congregations, across the river at South Glen's Falls, and at the chapel in Harrisena. At the first confirmation held during his incumbency, in March, 1874, a class of twenty-seven was added to the church, the largest number ever received into its fold, at any one time since the parish was organized. Wardens. Adsit, Aruaah M. jr., 1867,* 8, 9, Holden, Austin W., 1854, 5, 6, 7, 70, 1. 8, 9, 60, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Beach, Jotn, 1842, 3, 4, 5. Hopkins, Heman K., 1852. Bolles, George F., 1862, 8, 4, 5. Martin, Henry, 1842, 3, 4, 5. Carter, William C, 1840, 1. Martin, John H., 1846, 7, 52, 3, 4, Davis, Henry L., 1853. 5, 6. Finch, Jeremiah W., 1867,* 8, 9, 70, Mills, John, 1846, 7. 1. Schenck, James W. jr., 1857. Harris, John J., 1858, 9, 60, 1. Sheldon, N. Edson, 1840, 1. Hathaway, George F., 1865,* 6, 7. He was ordained deacon, June 16th, 1867. Continued Ms theological studies for another year, holding an adjunct professorship of Latin in Hobart College. Was assigned charge of the parish of St. James' church, Clinton, Oneida county, N. Y., and entered upon its duties in the July following. Was married 16th September, 1868, ordained presbji;er 3d June, 1869, was appointed head master of St. John's school for boys in Manlius, Onondaga county, N. Y., in January, 1871, where he remained for something more than two years. In July, 1873, he re- turned to parish life, by accepting the rectorship of the church of the Messiah at Glen's Falls. Since coming here, although the period of his relation with the church has been comparatively brief, he has greatly endeared himself to his congregation whose numbers are constantly increasing. Of genial disposition, fine presence, and high culture, he has the indescribable faculty of winning friends, and adhe- rents in every walk of life. His duties, arduous and exhaustive, are discharged with punctilious fidelity, and he takes rank with the most active and zealous priests of the diocese. A fluent, offhand speaker, a close reasoner, an impassioned ad- vocate, he is, slowly perhaps, but surely bringing the church up to its normal standard and level in the estimation of the community, and there is but one voice in the parish in regard to his usefulness, ability, and worth. *To fill vacancy. 34 266 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Vestrymen. Adsit, Arunah M. jr., 1866 * 7. Arms, Lewis L., 1853,* 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 1,2,3,4,5, 6,7. Bass, William B., 1844, 5, 6, 7, 52, 3, 4, 5. Bassinger, George H., 1870, 1. Beach, Charles H., 1842, 3, 4, 5, 6. Beach, Titus, 1842, 3. Blackwell, 1846, 7. Butler, Benjamin C, 1852, 3, 8, 9. Cadwell, James E., 1852,* 67, 8, 9, 70,1. Chambers, Christopher, 1866.* Cool, Alvin F.,1852. Cool, Hiram M., 1852, 3, 9, 62, 3, 4. Cool, Hyman J., 1853, 4, 5. Cool, Keyes P., 1840, 1. Cromwell, Dr. James, 1853. Curtis, George, 1864, 5. Davis, Henry L., 1844, 5, 6, 7. Davis, Isaac J., 1859, 66,* 7, 8, 9. Dix, James L., 1858. Elliott, Henry, 1842. Ferriss, Orange, 1840, 1, 60, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Finch, Jeremiah W., 1865, 6, 7. Geer, Walter jr., 1840,1. Harris, Hiram M., 1859,* 61. Haviland, Roger F, 1867,* 8. Hitchcock, Adolphus F., 1842,3, 4. Holden, Austin W., 1842, 3, 4, 5, 6,7. Holdredge, Sylvester W., 1858. Hopkins, Heman K., 1842, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 53,* 4.* Hopkins, Stephen D., 1868, 9, 70, 1. Mabbett, Truman G., 1855,* 6, 7, 9 60, 1, 2, 3, 4. McDonald, Leonard G., 1857, 8, 9, 60, 1, 7, 8, 9, 70, 1. McDonald, William, 1840, 1. Martin, James E., 1852. Martin, John H., 1842, 3, 4. Phelps, Walter jr., 1852, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 1, 2, 3. Philo, Henry, 1840, 1. Piatt, Samuel R., 1842, 3, 4, 5. Ranger, Frederic E., 1859. Roberts, Charles, 1862, 5, 6. Roberts, Hiram, 1«58, 9. Roberts, L. Q. C, 1848, 5, 7. Robinson, Frederic W., 1852, 3, 4. 5,6,7,67,8, Rockwell, Hiram, 1871. Rogers, Halsey, 1841. Sanford, George, 1840. Schenck, James W., 1853, 4, 5,* 6. 8, 9, 60, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Schenck, James W. jr., 1860, 5, 6, Sheldon, Nehemiah, 1840, 1. Smith, Frederic, 1855. Smith, John, 1856,7, 9, 60, 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70. Somers, John, 1854, 5. Steiner, David C, 1869, 70, 1. Stevens, John D., 1867,* 8, 9, 70, 1, Thomson, Charles, 1854, 5, 6, 7. Tucker, Dr. , 1846, 7. Vanbenthuysen, John H., 1857 Wait, William A., 1863, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70, 1. Wing, Abraham, 1840, 1. *To fill vacaucy. THE CHURCHES. 267 Clerks. Beach, Charles H., 1842, 3. Holden, Austin W., 1844, 5, 53, 4, Bolles; George F., 1862, 3, 4, 5. 9, 60. Butler, Benjamin C, 1852. Ranger, Frederic E., 1856, 7, 8. Carter, William C, 1840, 1. Schenck, James W. jr., 1861, 5,* 6. Wait, William A., 1867, 8, 70, 1. Collectors. Bolles, George F., 1863, 4, 5. Holdredge, Sylvester W., 1858. Butler, Benjamin C, 1852. Hopkins, Stephen D., 1867, 8, 9. Creeley, George, 1854. Mabbett, Truman G., 1862. Davis, Isaac J., 1856, 7. Noble, John T., 1853. Holden, Austin W., 1843, 4, 59, 60, Stevens, J. D., 1870, 1. 1, 5,* 6. Building Committee. Arms, Lewis L., ^ Ferriss, Orange, >The original committee, reelected May 11, 1863. Schenck, James W., J Roberts, Hiram, added to the committee by vote of vestry, 20th May, '63. Curtis, George, elected 5th May, 1865, vice Roberts deceased. Finch, J. W., added to the committee 22d May, 1865. Treasurers. Alden, John, 1859, 60, 2. Thomson, Charles, 1854, 5, 6, 7. Bellamy, Charles, 1861. Wait, William A., 1863, 4, 5, 6, 7, Ranger, Frederic E., 1858. 8, 70, 1. Delegates to Diocesan Convention. Adsit, Arunah M. jr., 1868, 70. Ferriss, Orange, 1859. Arms, Lewis L., 1861, 3. Finch, Jeremiah W., 1867, 8, 9, 70. Beach, Charles H., 1843, 4. Holden, Austin W., 1845, 6, 7, 53, Butler, Benjamin C, 1852, 3,9. 4, 5, 6, 8, 60. Cadwell, J. E., 1852, 69. McDonald, Leonard G., 1865, 7, 8, Carter, William C, 1840. 9, 70. Cool, Hiram M., 1852, 3, 62, 3, 5. Phelps, Walter jr., 1860. Curtis, George, 1861, 2, 3, 5. Roberts, Charles, 1862. Davis, Isaac J., 1867. Schenck, James, 1856, 9, 60, 1. *To fill vacancy. 268 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Abstract of Parochial Reports. a ^ ^5 CO q 00 m <3 Oj 2 ,s ^ .. TS m o '0 "o .2 1 3 i c3 1 P. CO a o 9 03 "3 a a o 73 a; > o a 132 02 m fe P m PQ Q S m O < Pd ft 02 rji 1840, 6 4 9 3 19 50 1841 3 1 19 1843, 3 , , *3 i 3 33 1843, 13 2 1 1 37 1844, 3 1 2 23 1845, 1846, 1847 * 6 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1853, .'.'.'.'. 31 130 5 35 5 5 23 10 1 2 8 30 1854, .... 35 103 6 "i 35 3 3 33 8 2 7 25 1855, 38 150 14 5 48 3 48 18 1 8 50 185fi, 30 170 6 2 3 30 8 30 1857, 8 2 40 • 1858, 50 200 8 5 4 47 7 30 1859, 50 200 11 3 12 7 56 io "i 7 30 1860, 50 350 30 8 9 60 5 1 6 35 1861, 6 1863, .... 54 104 "4 3 5 7 50 13 2 10 45 1863, 14 58 11 4 4 5 16 5 7 44 1864, 50 150 20 4 2 3 58 5 '3 2 7 45 1865, 68 150 19 2 7 3 5 73 7 1 7 45 1866, .... 70 6 2 7 5 9 65 8 '3 4 6 50 1867, 70 5 4 3 69 9 3 1 5 45 1868 14 3 ii 3 4 85 15 4 6 65 1869, 85 7 3 10 3 6 77 10 6 '3 6 50 1870 PART II. i HISTORY OF QUEENSBURY. CHAPTER I. I Discoveries by Samuel Champlain — Engagement between the Algonquin and Iroquois Indians — Mohawk Claims to the Terri- tory AROUND LaKeGtEORGE — TrEATY HELD THERE — EXPLORATIONS BY Henry Hudson in this Region — Fort Anne and Fort Nichol- son BUILT — Jesuit Missions among the Mohawks — First Dis- covert OF Lake St. Sacrament by Father Jogues — His tortures AND death — Old French War — Treaty op Aix la Chapelle — Declaration of War — Advance op Gen. Johnson — Council op War at Fort Edward. JN" the early part of the year 1608, two vessels were fitted out in one of the ports of France, and placed under the command of Samuel Champlain,(a) a bold and experienced navigator. On the thirteenth of April these vessels sailed for the New World, and in less than two months arrived in safety at a trading ^ post, which had been established in a previous voyage. Thence he sailed up the St. Lawrence river, and erected barracks at the mouth of the St. Charles river, where he and his people wintered, suffering much from the intense severity of the climate. Early in the spring, eager for adventure, and desirous of exploring the coun- ' Tadoussac, where in 1603 Pontgrave and Cliamplain had left their ships, and in a small open boat had pushed their discoveries up the great river as far as Sault St. Louis, which had been visited by Cartier many years before. («) Champlain, Samuel De, governor of Canada, and founder of Quebec, from whom Lake Champlain takes its name, was born at Bronage in France. The first attempt to establish a French colony in Canada, after being prosecuted by Cartier from 1534 to 1542 was abandoned, but the enterprise was resumed about the beginning of the 17th century, and Champlain, who had obtained a reputation as a naval olficer in the East Indies, was appointed pilot to De Chatte, the Lieut. General of Canada. In 1603, he ascended the St. Lawrence as far as the Falls of St. Loxiis, explored the country, and returned to France. The years 1604 and 1605 were spent in further explorations of the coast, and in 1607 went to Tadoussac. Quebec was founded by him in 1608, and the same year he dis- covered and suppressed a dangerous conspiracy which had for its object his mur 272 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. try, he, with two of his compauions, joined a war party of Hu- rous and Algouquins at the embouchure of the Eichelieu river. This expedition, consisting of sixty savages, commanded by two distinguished chiefs, Yroquet and Ochasteguin, embarked in twenty-four canoes, and ascended Lake Champlain to Ticonde- roga, ^ where they lauded, and through the aid of their allies, the French, with their fire arms, now introduced for the first time into their savage warfare, met, and defeated a large party of their ancient enemies the Iroquois. Some writers do not hesitate to assert that, during this excursion, Champlain ex- plored Lake George, and even visited that point on the Hudson river, now known as Glen's Falls. However this may be, there is little doubt but what this adventurous pioneer in the pathway of civilization, became fully informed in regard to the topo- graphy of the country. This region was in the direct pathway of the aggressive parties of the red warriors of the great Algon- quin nations at the north ; the formidable Iroquois Confederacy at the south and west, and the allied tribes of the great Mohican stock, including the Schaghticoke Indians to the east. The elevated wilderness plateau,^ bounded by the St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain, the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, was the favor- ite hunting ground of these various tribes, where, according to tradition, more than one struggle for conquest and supremacy had taken place, before the white man had made his advent upon der, and the abandonment of the expedition. The early part of 1609 was occupied with contests with the Indians, in which he proved successful. He went to France in September, leaving the colony under the care of Peter Chavin, but returned in the spring of 1610. He again engaged in war with the Iroquois with similar success. In 1611 he went again to France, but returned in 1612, as lieut. governor under Charles de Bourbon. The winter of 1615 was spent among the Hurons. For many years he was actively employed in promoting the interests of the colony, which, however, was taken by the English in 1629, and Champlain, who had capitulated to Sir David Kirk, carried by him to France. In 1633, Canada having been restored to France the previous year by the treaty of St. Ger- main, he was appointed governor, which office he retained till his death in December, 1635. He published, in 1632, a history of New France, or Canada from its first discovery to 1631, containing a minute account of his voyages. He de- serves credit for his fidelity as an historian, and his skill and courage as an officer. — A2)pleto)i's Cyclopedia of Biography. ' It is but proper to say that some authors have reached the conclusion that the headland of Crown Point was the scene of the engagement here recorded. " The Beaver Hunting Place, is the name given in the English charts to the deserts between Lake Ontario, the river St. Lawrence, and the Lakes George and Champlain, and the river of Soree. — Chastellux's Travels in North America, Eng. Translation, vol. i, p. 390. Translator's note. MOHAWKS CLAIM COMPENSATION. 273 these western shores. Amid the dense forests and stupendous mountain ranges embraced in this territory, the red man to a period within the memory of those now living, has reigned the paramount chief. As lately as the year 1792, the Cahnawaga, and St. Regis Indians, as the heirs and representatives of the ancient Mohawks,^ sent a deputation to the government of the state of New York, claiming compensation for the tract of country embraced between Lake Champlain and the river St. Lawrence, and whose eastern and southern boundaries were defined by a line drawn from a point between Fort Edward and Lake George to the junction of Canada creek with the Mohawk near the village of Little Falls in Herkimer county, and thence to the head waters of the Mohawk on the west, i^o result fol- lowing this application, a similar eftbrt was made in 1793, and again in 1794. During the following year this claim was brought to the attention of the New York legislature by a special message from the governor, and a commission was appointed to investigate the claim. At the same session a joint resolution passed the legislature, indemnifying the deputies for their ex- penses, and also providing for them suitable presents or gratui- ties. No satisfactory conclusion being reached, an arrangement was entered into for a treaty to be held at the head of Lake George the- ensuing fall. Commissioners were accordingly ap- pointed, notices sent to the tribes interested, and provision made for defraying the expenses of the council, including the cus- tomary appropriation for presents. In addition to the barracks, storehouses and other buildings connected with old Fort George, which were placed in readiness for the expected guests, an am- ple supply of tents and camp equipage was despatched from Albany, together with provisions and other supplies, and for three weeks a carnival of amusement was held, so striking and impressive that for a half a century the memory of it was vividly borne in the minds of the surviving witnesses. Daily horse-back parties from the Corners, as Glen's Falls was then often called, and visitors from all the adjacent settlements and villages, visited the scene, attracted by the unique display, ' Properly speaking these tribes represented what are known in the Catholic Annals as " the domiciliated Indians," namely those who had become converts to the Romish faith, and were associated at the several mission stations alonu- the border, partly for religious and partly for civil purposes, but chiefly as a protection against the incursions of savages in the English interest from the south. They are frequently spoken of as the Seven Nations of Canada. 35 274 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY, or to witness the ball play, the mock fights, the mimic dances, and other athletic sports and amusements of the young braves, and fledgeling warriors. During the progress of the treaty, which was conducted with all the ceremonious gravity, charac- teristic of the deliberations of the aborigines, the council was visited by Gov. Jay, and his military staff and some of the principal official dignitaries of the state. What with the glitter- ing and showy uniforms of that day ; the gaudy trappings and bizarre decorations of the chiefs ; the stately and sedate bearing of the deputies, this assemblage constituted an imposing and memorable event which Lake George has probably never paral- leled from that day to the present. Although nothing was positively accomplished by this treaty,^ it was another step in the progress of events, which ended in a final and satisfactory adjustment of the points at issue. At a treaty held in the city of New York, in the mouth of May following, these long contested claims were finally ex- tinguished, by the agreement of the agents to pay the claimants in the mouth of August following, the sum of one thousand two hundred and thirty pounds, six shillings and eight pence, " lawful money of said state," and on the third Monday in August, yearly, forever thereafter, the like sum of two hundred and thirty pounds six shillings and eight pence. In. addition to this annuity, were certain small reservations of laud in the neigh- borhood of their settlement. The Mohawk title proper to this territory, was ceded to the state by a treaty held at Albany on the twenty-ninth of March, 1795, the consideration being one ' " The results (of tliis treaty) were communicated by the agents of the state to Governor Jay, who, in the month of January, transmitted the following message' to the legislature. " Oentlemen : I have now the honor of laying before you the proceedings at a treaty with the Indians, denominated the seven nations of Canada, comprising those usually denominated the St. Regis Indians, held at the south end of Lake George, in this state, on the twenty-sixth day of September last, with a letter of the second inst., from the agents who were appointed to attend it on the part of the state. " It appears from the above mentioned letter, that the expenses incident to the Bald treaty have been paid, and the accounts duly audited and passed, except the allowance usually made by the United States to the commissioners whom they employ lor holding treaties with the Indians. " The compensation due to the said agents for their services, still remains to be ascertained and ordered by the legislature. " New York, 23d January, 1796. " John Jay." 1 Taken at length from Hough's Histxrryof St. Lawrence and Franklin Coundef, p. 134. HENRY HUDSON. 275 thousand dollars, besides the expenses of the deputies and cer- tain presents for distribution among the tribe.' The discovery of Henry Hudson, (a) nearly contemporaneous with that of Champlain, had developed the existence of the noble river now bearing his name, and their high mightinesses, the lords of the states general of Holland, had promptly availed them- selves of the fertile foothold thus presented for a commercial colony in the l^ew World. At a very early date men of wealth and distinction emigrated with their families and retainers, and in the virgin forests of the Chatiemac founded manors and estates after the style of the feudal barons and mediaeval chieftains of the Rhine, and with the title of patroons exercised for a century an almost undisputed sovereignty over their tenants and followers. Dutch settlements sprung up with almost incredible rapidity. In less than twenty-iive years from the date of Hudson's adventur- ous voyage, existing records show that the Dutch runners, traders, and agents had penetrated the wilderness in every direction in pursuit of traffic, adventure, and discovery. This section which I ' See Hough's History of St. Laiorence and Franklin Counties, p. 125 to 146. {a) Henry Hudson, spelled Herdson, Hodson, Hodsdon, was, as contemporaneous documents go to show with tolerable conclusiveness, the grandson of Henry Hudson who was the founder, and first assistant of the great Muscovy Company and who died while holding the office of alderman in London in 1555. He was probably also the son of Capt. Thomas Hudson, an experienced navigator of that day, who was in the employment of the powerful Muscovy Company organized for the purpose of maritime commerce and discovery. This famous discoverer was trained up in the employ of that company and was the intimate companion and associate of the distinguished navigators and explorers of that active period. His firs^ two voyages of which we have any authentic record were made in the interest of that wealthy and enterprising corporation. It is conjectured, with a fair show of probability, that about the beginning of the 17th century, a few years prior to the discoveries which have associated his name so conspicuously with American history, he was for a while in the employment of the Merchant Adventurers, another influential company of London merchants, of which his supposed uncle Christopher Hudson was president. The first voyage of Hudson, of which there is authentic record, was made in the interest of the great Muscovy or Russia Company in 1607. Holding to the opinion of an open polar sea, he sailed from Gravesend the first of May with the intention of crossing the north pole by the coast of Greenland. Being deterred by the impenetrable barrier of ice, he skirted the coast of Greenland to its southern extremity, and returned to England on the 15th of September following, having attained a higher degree of latitude than any previous traveler, and adding materially to the world's knowledge of those unexplored regions. On the 22d of April 1608, he embarked on his second recorded voyage for the Muscovy Company in pursuit of that delusion of the early navigators a north east passage to the Indies. In this adventure he reached the northern coast of Norway, reached Nova Zembla on the sixth of July, and after a vain effort to force 276 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. has since become classic ground in the eye of the historian; lying in the direct route between the French settlements at the north and the commercial posts on the Hudson, was among the first to be explored, and the tributaries of the Hud- son, as far north as Fort Edward, still bear the names given them by their Dutch discoverers. From that time to the out- break of the old French war, which terminated in the conquest of Canada, and the final expulsion of the French frop a foot- hold in North America, the trail leading from Albany to Montreal through the villages of Fort Edward, Sandy Hill and Glen's Falls to the'head of Lake George was deeply worn by , the mingled footsteps of the white and red man, in the frequent and often clashing pursuits of war and trafi&c — the lu3t of con- quest and gain. To this day, the frequently exhumed relics of frontier warfare, both savage and civilized, bear witness to the hot and sanguinary struggles which have here taken place. Until after the French war the territory of northern New York, was embraced within the somewhat unsettled boundaries of Albany county. North of the domain of the Van Rensselaers, the old military post of Saratoga,* was the first, and for a long a passage returned to England, landing at Gravesend, on the 26tli day of August, 1608. These brilliant enterprises aroused the jealousy and apprehension of the opulent East India Company of Holland ; and with characteristic enterprise they sought to divert the labors of the bold navigator to their interest. He was accordingly induced to visit Amsterdam, and after tediously delayed negotiations entered the employ of that Company. On Saturday the fourth of April, 1G09 he set sail from Amsterdam in the Half-Moon, a yacht of about 80 tons burden and manned by 16 or 18 English and Dutcli sailors. The object of this voyage was a renewal of the search for a north-east passage by the route pursued the previous year. Failing in this, and his crew becoming mutinous, he, with their consent, turned his prow in search of other adventures towards the setting sun. He reached the banks of Newfoundland on the second of July — skirted the coast of the continent as far north as Delaw/ire Bay which he discovered and entered, and in September discovered, and sailed up the river which bears his name. The following year he sailed again in the Half-Moon, and again cursed with a wicked and mutinous crew, "though he had divided even with tears his last bread with his men, yet on midsummer's day, IGll, his ungrateful crew, thrusting him into a frail boat with Ids son, and several sick saih)rs, cut him adrift, to perish amid the arctic winds and waves of the great waste of waters (Hudson's bay) which bearing his name " is his tomb and monument." — Compiled from A His- torical Inqury concerning Henry Hudson by John Meredith Read jr. ' Fort Saratoga stood upon a hill on the east side of the Hudson, opposite the present Schuylerville. It was rebuilt in the spring of 1746, in quadrangular form and strongly palisaded, and named Fort Clinton." — Lossing's Life and Times of Philip iSchu//U'r, vol. t, p. 56, note. It was abandoned and burnt by the English, about Dec. 1st, 1747 ; it being untenable as against the enemy. JESUIT MISSIONS. 277 period the only barrier between the nomads of Canada, and the stockade defenses at Fort Orange. As early as 1709 a mili- tary road was constructed on the east side of the Hudson as far as the head waters of Lake Champlain. Along this route, in addition to the post already named, two other forts were erected, the northernmost of which was named Fort Ann in honor of the then reigning sovereign of England. The next was named Fort Nicholson, after the commander of the expedition. This afterward formed a part of the defenses known as Fort Lydius. Contemporaneous with the progress of French discovery and colonization, was that wonderful movement in the direction of Christianizing the savage races, and the establishment of Indian missions by the Jesuits of the seventeenth century. This enter- prise stands conspicuously out upon the pages of modern his- tory, without parallel for the endurance, perseverance, energy, self abnegation, constancy, devotion and ultimate horrible tor- ture and death of its victims. Not only hand in hand with the explorer, the fur trader, and military adventurer, but oftentimes far in advance of either, we find these enthusiastic devotees, penetrating the bosky wilds and sullen glooms of the Saguenay and the upper lakes ; now halting by the far stretching vistas of the Beautiful river; founding missions by the numerous waters of the great inland seas; and anon pushing adventurously up the unknown tribu- taries of the great Mississippi; paddling in frail canoes over unexplored wastes of water ; wading and wandering through untraversed swamps, and inimitable wildernesses, through storm and tempest, frost and snow, starvation and sickness ; in perils more deadly and imminent than those encountered by St. Paul; of ravening beasts, of venomous reptiles, and of merci- less savages, these men of God fought their way with the invisi- ble but ever potent weapons of a sublime faith, impelled by the fervid vow of obedience and high convictions of duty, until nearly all of that splendid galaxy, finally achieved the cross and crown of martyrdom through the bloody and terrific ordeal of the tomahawk and scalping knife, the cruel gauntlet, the torture, the stake and the funeral pyre. Of this number was Father Isaac Jogues,^ who joined the ill fated Huron mission in 1636. • ' " He was born at Orleans in 1607, and (at tlie time of his capture), was thirty, five years ot'ajje. His oval face and the delicate mould of his features indicated a modest, thoughtful, and refined nature. He was constitutionally timid, with a 278 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. After arduous labors in preaching and propagating the faith along the northern shores of Lake Huron, as far as the straits of Michilimackinac, and the Sault Sainte Marie, he, in company with four other Frenchmen, and a party of thirty-five Hurons, early in the summer of 1642, while on their way from Quebec to the mission with supplies, were attacked near the western end of Lake St. Peters, and the entire party of whites and about half of the Hurons were made prisoners. In trying to help one of his companions, the brutal savages pounded him with their clubs and fists until he was senseless, and chewed and lacerated his hands with their teeth until they were so mutilated as to be nearly useless. The prisoners were conveyed by the way of the Richelieu river and Lake Champlain, to the Mohawk settlements. Near the southern extremity of Lake Champlain, they en- countered another war party of the L'oquois, when the ill fated prisoners were subjected to fresh indignities, and were obliged to run the gauntlet. Father Jogues was again knocked sense- less ; his hands frightfully mutilated, and drenched with blood, and fire was applied to his body. On their way to the Mohawk towns, the party passed through Lake George, and as this is the first record we have of a white man visiting this locality, there can be little question but that Father Jogues with his compan- ions, Groupil and Couture, were the first of the Caucassian race to set eyes upon this lovely lake, or to traverse the portage be- yond it. Staggering under heavy burdens all the way, the poor priest and his suffering companions at length reached the lower Mohawk village, where they were again obliged to run the gauntlet and suffer fresh tortures and mutilations. Here Father Jogues had one of his thumbs cut oft' by one of the Algonquin female converts, who was compelled to perform this piece of butcher}^ From town to town these scenes were repeated and for months he was in daily expectation of meeting his fate. Goupil was at finally tomahawked. Couture was adopted into the tribe. At length, after more than a year of captivity, through the instrumentality and kindness of the Dutch minister and sensitive conscience and jrreat religious susceptibilities. He was a finished scholar, and miprht have "gained a literary reputation ; but he had chosen another career, and one for which he seemed but ill fitted. Physically, however, he was well matched with his work ; for, thoupfh his frame was slight, he was so active, that none of the Indians could surpass him in running." — Parkman's Jesuits in North America, p. 214. FATHER JOGUES. 279 other sympathizing friends in Albany, who afterward paid a large ransom to appease the Mohawks, he escaped to TTew York, and after various mishaps, in which he seemed continually the victim of bad fortune, he reached France in the month of Jan- uary, 1644. Here for a season he became the subject of great interest and attention; and besides receiving visits and expres- sions of sympathy from the queen, and many persons of rank and distinction, was the object of the deepest veneration and regard by the members of his order, who for months had made his sufferings and torture the subject of special solicitude and reflection. At this time he received from the pope a special dispensation authorizing him to celebrate mass with his muti- lated hands. The ensuing spring he returned to Canada,^ and for a while had a respite from his arduous and hazardous labors. Two years later he was commissioned by the governor to proceed on a political embassy to the Iroquois country, with gifts, congratu- lations and conciliating messages to the Mohawks, in relation to the ratification of a treaty recently consummated with the Canadian authorities. He was at the same time commissioned by the superior of his order to establish a mission among that bloodthirsty people, bearing the prophetic and significant name, of the mission of the martyrs. About the middle of May, 1646, he left Three Rivers on this expedition, in company with the Sieur Bourdon, engineer in chief on the governor's staff, two Algonquin deputies carrying belts and presents in behalf of their tribe, and four Mohawks to act as guides and an escort. Proceeding up the Richelieu river and Lake Champlain, past the scenes of former trials and sufierings, he reached the lower extremity of Lake George on the eve of the Romish festival of Corpus Christi,^ and as a memorial of the same, conferred upon this historic sheet the name of Lac St. Sacrament, a name which, for upwards of a century, was borne without dispute or question. From the head of Lake George to the. Hudson, the ' " Hennepin says * * tlie Spaniards who were the first discoverers, expected to have found some valuable mines there, and being disappointed, called that part of it on which the upper town of Quebec, is now partly situated, il capo di nacla, a cape of nothing, or barren cape ; whence, adds this writer, the name of Canada has been corrupted. Others say, that upon the Spaniards first landing, they were accosted by the natives with the words liaJi-cah-nah-dah Avhich implies there's nothing here." — Knox's Hist. Journal, 1-303. ^ A holy-day set tor the Thursday of the week following Pentecost (Whitsunday) to commemorate the real presence in the Holy Eucharist. 280 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY, party had a weary march, carryiug their presents and luggage. Below the fall, they succeeded in procuring canoes and proceeded thence to Albany. Although no outrages were committed, the embassy, in great degree, proved a failure, and the party returned, reaching Fort Richelieu on the twenty-seventh of June. To complete the narrative, Jogues was sent back by his superior, in August, was taken prisoner *vhile on the route from Canada, and, on his arrival at the Mohawk village, after having thin strips of flesh torn from his body, was led to the house of a chief, where, on his entrance, his skull was cloven with a tomahawk, and he fell dead at his tormentor's feet. " Thus died Isaac Jogues, one of the purest examples of Roman Catholic virtue, which this western continent has seen." ^ After this tragic occurrence, a hundred years passed on in the cycle of human events, and this northern border, with its scanty fringe of civilization, still remained the domain and in the oc- casional occupancy of savage tribes wandering in the search of peltry or game, or making its sodden trails the pathway of predal and vindictive warfare. Marin's expedition, which " left Montreal on the 4th of Nov., 1745," * * " on the sug- gestion of Father Piquet, the French prefect apostolique to Canada, who met the expedition at Crown Point, and the re- presentatives of the Iroquois who were with Marin, * * they passed up Lake Champlain and Wood creek, crossed the country to the Hudson river, destroyed Lydius's lumber estab- lishment on the site of«Fort Edward, and approached the thriv- ing settlement of Saratoga, which they utterly destroyed."^ The peace secured by the treat}^ of Aix-la-Chapelle, hollow and insincere in the old world, was scarcely observed in the new. The ashes of the frontier settlements had scarcely ceased smoking when the French resumed, with unwonted energy, their original and favorite plan of establishing a chain of mihtary posts froni the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the mouth of the Mis- sissippi. The Indians, far and near, by threats and caresses, presents, promises, and displays of force, were rendered tribu- tary to their vast designs, and the liuni of military preparation, the chink of the carpenter's hammer, and the echo of the carbine, rang from the Kennebec to the Monongahela. Frequent Indian alarms alqng the border in 1754, aroused the • ' Parkman's Jesuits in NortJi America, p. 304. ' Lossiiiff's Life and Times of Philip Schuyler, vol. i, p. 54. I MARTIAL PREPAEATIONS. 281 colonists to a sense of danger, and steps were taken for a more effective defense than had as yet been adopted. A larger body of troops was raised for the protection of the frontier, and Ephraim Williams was promoted to the rank of major and placed in command. The following year, war, which had been long pending, was formally declared, and both sides rallied themselves for that long and bloody struggle, which was des- tined in the councils of the Almighty Ruler of the Universe to overthrow the French dominion in North America. Provincial assemblies were convened, money and troops voted in profusion, and with the opening of the spring, the whole sea- board as well as wilderness border of the English colonies was actively astir with martial preparations. Massachusetts raised three regiments of infantry, the third of which was placed in the command of Ephraim Williams, again advanced to the rank of colonel. The phin of the campaign contemplated a simulta- neous movement of three distinct armies upon as many different points of the line of French fortifications between the head waters of the Ohio and Quebec. Col. Williams's regiment was destined to cooperate with the force of Maj. Gen. William Johnson in an attack upon the French posts on Lake Champlain, and was ordered to rendezvous for that purpose with the other New England levies at Albany. In April, 1755, a convention of the governors of the several colonies was assembled at Annapolis ^ in Maryland, at which Gen. Braddock assisted for the purpose of arranging the details of militar}^ operations for the ensuing campaign. It was at this cohference determined to despatch the first expedition, under the command of Gen. Braddock, in person, against the post since known as FortDu Quesne at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers. The second, designed for the conquest of the posts on and near Lake Ontario, was to be commanded by Gen. Shirley; and the third, destined for the Champlain valley, was entrusted to the command of William Johnson, who had been recently commissioned as major general. Of these three expeditions, the latter, only, was in part successful. In July following, 600 men under the command of Gen. Ly- man, of New Hampshire, detailed to cooperate with the northern • War was not declared in Europe until tlie following year, by England on the IStli of May, and by France on the 9th of June, ensuing. 36 282 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. army, was sent forward to clear up the old military road along the Hudson, and to rebuild the fort at Lydius's mills. While this was in progress, Col. Miller, with another detach- ment of the army, threw up a block-house and entrenchments at the second carrying place on the Hudson. The village of Fort Miller still perpetuates the name then given to these defenses. CHAPTER n. GrATHERma OP THE ENGLISH ArMY AT ALBANY — It PROCEEDS TO THE Head of Lake George — First Religious Service and Sermon at THAT Place — Council op War — King Hendrick's Eloquence — The Bloody Morning Scout — Battle op Lake George — Defeat OF THE French Army and Capture op its Leader — Action at Bloody pond. [HE several quotas for the expedition against Fort St. Frederic having at length reached Albany, and the other preparations for the campaign having been matured, in the early part of August, the main body of the army set forward in its march northward; and General Johnson soon followed with the artillery, stores and baggage. Advancing slowly along the old military road up the river, he reached the camp at the great carrying place on the four- teenth of August, at which time he reported to Governor Delancey that his entire force would " not exceed 2850 men fit for marching to Crown Point." Col. Cockroft's regiment, was left behind as a convoy to the wagons and batteaux freighted with the usual impedimenta of an army. An addition to the defenses of this important point was at this time commenced, to which the name of Fort Lyman ^ was first given in honor of Major General Phineas Lyman (a) of the Connecticut troops, to ^ It stood close upon the bank of the Hudson, on the north side of the mouth of Fort Edward creek. It was of an irregular quadrangular form, with bastions at three of the angles, the fourth angle being effectually protected by the river. It was constructed of timber and earth. The ramparts were sixteen feet high, and twenty-two feet thick, and were mounted with six cannon. A deep fosse was excavated in front of two of its sides, the other two sides fronting upon, and being protected by Fort Edward creek and the Hudson. In addition to the several buildings which stood inside of the walls of the fort, large store houses and bar- racks were reared on an island opposite to it in the river. — Fitch's Hist. Survey of Washington County. In Trans. N. T. 8. xigricultural Soc'y, 1848. (a) " Phinehas Lyman, was born at Durham, Conn., about 1716 ; was gradu- ted in 1738 at Yale College, in which he was afterwards a tutor three years ; and settled as a lawyer in Suffield. He sustained various public offices. In 1755 he was appointed major general and commander in chief of the Connecticut forces and built Fort Lyman, now called Fort Edward, N. Y. When Sir W. Johnson was wounded in the battle of Lake George, the command devolved on him. In 1758, he served under Abercrombie, and was with Lord Howe, when he was 284 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. whom was assigned the duty of erection. It was shortly after changed to Fort Edward in compliment to Edward, Duke of York, grandson of George the second, and brother of George the third. On the fifteenth a council of war was held, at which resolu- tions were passed, desiring additional aid and reinforcements from the governors of New York and Connecticut; and re- questing the governor of Massachusetts to make a diversion in their favor, by sending a detachment of five hundred troops down the Chaudiere river against the French establishments in that vicinity. On the twenty-fourth of the same month. Gen. Johnson writes to Lieut. Gov. Delancey from the camp at the great carrying place, that " the road is now making from this place to Lake St. Sacrament ' where I propose to build maga- zines and raise a defensible fortification, either as a safe retreat in case we should find the enemy too strong for our force, and be obliged to quit our ground, or upon well grounded intelli- gence find it the most prudent measure to halt there till we re- ceive reinforcements."^ Headds," I propose to march to-morrow or next day with the first division of about fifteen hundred men, and some Indians, and a few field pieces." Awaiting developments, General Johnson established a camp at the head of the lake, and under the immediate supervision of Col. Williams, a large clearing was made on the headland afterward covered by the intrenchments of Fort William Henry. In a communication to the board of trade dated the 3d Sept., killed. He was also at the capture of Crown Point by Amherst and at the sur- render of Montreal. '• In 1762 he commanded the provincial troops in the expedition against Havana. In 1763 he went to England as the agent of his brother officers to receive their prize money, also as agent of a company, called the military adventurers, to solicit a grant of land on the Mississippi, and wasted 11 years of his life. Being deluded for years by idle promises, his mind sunk down into imbecility. " At last his wife, who was a sister of Dr. Dwight's father, sent his second son to solicit his return in 1774. About this time a tract was granted to the petitioners. After his return he embarked with his eldest son for the Mississippi, and both died soon after their arrival at West Florida in 1775." — See Dwight's Travels, 1- 305. 361-3. Wilson's Orderly Book, in MxinselVs Hist. Series, p. 29, 7iote. ' Lac du Saint Sacrament. Father Jogues on his return to Canada, set out with some Indians for the scene of his former sufferings, in com- pany with Sieur Bourdon, royal engineer, and arrived on the festival of Corpus Christi, at Lake Andiatorocte, to which, in honor of the day, he gave the name of the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament. — 0' Callaghan' s Hist, of New Netherland, vol. II, p. 299. ' Documentary Hist, of N. T., vol. ii, p. 682. — Johnson Manuscripts. NAMING OF LAKE GEORGE. 285 1775. General Johnson states as follows : I am building a fort at this lake where no house ever before was built, nor a rod of land cleared, which the French call Lake St. Sacrament, but I have given it the name of Lake George, not only in honor to His Majesty but to ascertain his undoubted dominion here. When the battoes (certain small boats so called) are brought from the last fort caused to be built at the great carrying place ab' 17 miles from hence, I propose to go down this lake with a part of the army, and take part of the end of it about fifty miles from hence at a pass called Tionderogue ^ ab' 15 miles from Crown Point, there wait the coming up of the rest of the army, and then attack Crown Point." On Sunday, the seventh, the camp was hushed to listen to the first Christian services and sermon ^ held on this spot of which there is record. The venerable and Reverend Stephen Wil- liams of Longmeadow, Mass., a near relative of Col. Williams, and chaplain of his regiment, preached in camp from the pro- phetic words of Isaiah, " which remain among the graves and lodge in the mountains." The forces gathered here now num- bered nearly five thousand, and the want of transportation, coupled with the intelligence received from his trusty scouts and runners, that the French were in possession of the passes at the north dissipated the plan for any further advance. In the mean time the enemy, more active and aggressive, had despatched three thousand men to the frontier post of St. Frederic. Nearly one third of these were veterans from the fields of France, the remainder consisting of Canadians and Indians. They were joined on the seventeenth by the Baron deDieskau, a brave and experienced officer who had been as- ^ Invariably so spelled by Gen. Jolinson. Ticonderoga has a widely varied or- thography. It is supposed to be a contraction of the Indian term Tek-ya-dough- ni-gar-i-gee, signifying two points opposite to each other ; ye Indian name of Fort St. Frederic. — Vide map of the middle British Colonies, hy T. Pownall, M. P. , Loud., 1776. The same term was applied to the narrows between Ticonderoga and Crown Point forming the entrance to Lake Champlain. T. Poionall's Topographical de- scription of North America, Land., 1776. Pownall himself spells the word Cheon- deroga, and defines it as signifying three rivers. — Vide map ut supra. " " On Sunday, all come forth and collect in the groves for the worship of God ; three hundred red men, also, regularly enlisted under the English flag, and paid from the English treasury, seat themselves on the hillock, and, while the light of a summer's afternoon is shedding its sweetest influence on the tops of the forest clad mountains and on the still waters of the deep transparent lake, they listen gravely to the interpretation of a long sermon." — Bancroft's Hist. U. S., vol. vi, p. 28. 286 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. signed to the command of the expedition. For the following fifteen days he was encamped under the entrenchments of that fort maturing his plans — sending out scouts for intelligence and harmonizing disagreements among the intractable savages who constituted so large a part of his following. On the second of September he reached the lower fall on the outlet of Lake George, whence he sent out a small scouting party, and bivouacked for a couple of days at what is now known as the fort ground of Ticonderoga. On the 4th M. de St Pierre was sent forward with the Canadians and Indians, who were to sleep that night on the side of the great marsh near Whitehall. General Dieskau made the great mistake of leaving the bulk of his force, viz. 1800 men, at Carillon, and with a flying corps of six hundred Canadians, as many Indians and three hundred re- gulars, including two companies of grenadiers, a detail of twelve marines and a squad of artillerymen and bombardiers, he reached the head of South bay, on Lake Champlain, on the fifth, and set forward on his march toward Fort Lyman. Continuing the march on the sixth, about noon the detachment encamped be- yond the mountains.^ Here small scoutingparties were sent off in the direction of Fort Lyman and the head of Lake George. One of these returning the same night discovered and reported thick smoke seen in the direction of Johnson's camp. On the seventh, the army, preceded by scouts, again set forward. About two o'clock of that day the scouts, who had been sent to recon- noiter in the vicinity of Fort Lyman, rejoined the main body, with the information that there were about fifty tents outside the fort, upon which Dieskau, true to his motto,^ decided to at- tack it. Pushing forward, he reached that night the banks of the Hudson river about one league from the fort, where he en- camped for the night.^ At daybreak on the eighth the Indians fired at and killed a courier galloping rapidly towards the fort.* On his person was ' I have fo]lowed im]ilicitly the oflBcial statement of M. de Vaudreuil in regard to Dieskau's march. This, it will be seen, varies materially from the commonly received accovint ; and differs somewhat from Bancroft's relation. — Vide Colonial Docume?its relating to the History of N. Y., vol. x, p. 313-327. "^ Boldness wins. ' Probably on the flat at the foot of Sandy Hill. * " I got one Adams, a waggoner, who voluntarily and bravely consented to ride express with my orders to Colonel Blanchard of the New Hampshire regiment, commanding officer there. I acquainted him with my intelligence, and directed him to withdraw ail the troops there within tlie works thrown up (at Fort Lyman). CAPTURE OF DISPATCH. 287 found a dispatch to the of&cer in command of the garrison at that place advising' him of Dieskau's approach, with a large force of Frenchmen, Canadians, and Indians; and cautioning him as to the proper disposition of the provisions and ammuni- tion. Twelve wagons shortly after passed in the same direction, from which Dieskau only obtained two prisoners, from whom he obtained tolerably accurate information as to the condition and disposition of the English forces at the head of the lake. The garrison at Fort Lyman consisted of only about three hundred troops from the ISTew Hampshire levies under Col. Blanchard. It was the baron's original intention, after learning the weakness of the latter place, to move forward with celerity, assault and carry it by storm. " The Iroquois refused point blank to march to attack the fort." Dieskau in his account of the affair says : " I was to arrive at nightfall at that fort and rush to the attack; but the Iroquois, who took the lead on the march, under the pretence of zeal, caused a wrong direction to be taken ; and when I was informed of the circumstance, it was no longer time to apply a remedy, so that at nigthtfall I was yet a league from that fort on the road leading from it to Lake St. Sacrament."^ M. de St Pierre who, by the baron's orders, had consulted the chiefs of the different natives, and communicated to them his intention of attacking the camp at the head of the lake, under the alluring representation " that the more English there were, the more of them he would kill," reported that the In- dians would submit to his pleasure; and should he succeed at Lake St. Sacrament, they would accompany him to the fort.^ After day-break on the morning of the eighth, Dieskau com- menced his march along the newly made road so recently tra- versed by Johnson and his army. His force was disposed in five columns, marching at a distance of thirty paces apart. About half an liour, or near an hour after this I got two Indians and two soldiers to go on foot with another letter to the same purpose. " About twelve o'clock that night the Indians and soldiers returned with a wag- goner who had stole from the camp, with about eight others their waggoners and forces without orders. This waggoner says they heard and saw the enemy about four miles this side the carrying place. They heard a gun fife, and a man call upon heaven for mercy, which he judged to be Adams." — Gen. Johnson to the o-ov- ernors of the several colonies, Sept. 9th, 1755. 0' Ccdlaghan' s Docy. Hist. N. T., vol. II, p. 401-2. ' Documents relating to the Colonial History of N. T., vol. x, p. 317. " Vaudreuil's relation. Ibid, p. 331. 288 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBUEY. The regular troops forming the centre were led by the baron, in person, while on either flank was a column of Canadians and another of Indians. The latter were obliged, in order to main- tain their front, to wade morasses and streams, thread the tan- gled underbrush of the forest and climb the hills on their route. Nevertheless the force moved with considerable celerity, reach- ing the heights just north of Brown's half-way house, at about eight o'clock in the morning. Here he was met by some scouts who brought in two English prisoners, from whom he derived the intelligence that General Johnson had fortified and in- trenched the English camp, that he was in possession of twelve cannon from thirty pounders down. And, " that a large body of English and Indians were following them on their v/ay to re- inforce Fort Lydius." — In consequence of this information, a halt was ordered, the Canadians and Indians deposited their packs, and in light marching order were instructed to place themselves in ambush on the side hill west of the road, which was occupied by Dieskau with his regular troops.^ In the mean time an express arrived at the English camp with the intelligence that he had seen a large body of the enemy, a few miles to the north of Fort Lyman. In the morn- ing following, a council of war was held to determine a plan of procedure, at which it was resolved to send out a small party to reconnoitre and harrass the enemy's flanks as they appoached. King Hendrick, the celebrated chief of the Mohawks, being asked for his opinion, replied : "If they are to fight they are too few, if they are to be killed they are too many." It was sub- sequently proposed to divide the party into three detachments. The brave old sachem remonstrated, and forcibly illustrated the folly of the suggestion by picking up three sticks and bind- ing them together saying: "You see now that these cannot easily be broken ; but take them one by one, and you may break ' Vaudrueil's relation. Colonial Documents, vol. x, p. 321. Local tradition states that, to screen their advance and conceal their numbers, Dieskau's soldiers cut down branches from the trees, and bore them like Malcolm's forces who carried Birnam wood to Dunsinane. Hoyt says that Dieskau's regulars occupied the centre and the flanks, consisting of Canadians and Indians, were arranged in double potences, i.e. facing inward like two sides of a holiow square. An account in the Documents relating to the Colonial Ilistory of New York, vol. X, p. 342, states that the right wing consisted of Canadians, and the left of Indians, and were thrown forward forming a cul de sac with Dieskau's regulars for the base. COUNCIL OF WAR. 289 them at once.^ The council of war adopted in part the chief's advice, and one thousand men, under the command of Col. Ephraim Williams (a), of the Massachusetts levies, and tv70 ' Drake's Book of the Indians. Book v, p. 40, eighth edition. {a) Col. Ephraim Williams was born in the year 1714, in Newton, Massa- chusetts, which was then a frontier settlement, exposed to all the horrors of an annual Indian invasion, with its usual accompaniments of ruthless reprisal and vindictive massacre. His childhood and youth were passed among scenes of daily peril, which must have had a strong controlling influence in the formation of liis character, fitting him for those positions of trust and responsibility, which in after years he filled with such becoming honor. He came of Welch stock, his ancestors having immigrated from Wales about 1630, only ten years after the landing of the pilgrim fathers. They at first settled at Roxbury, Mass., where it is believed the grandfather of the subject of this sketch ofiiciated as a minister of the gospel. So far as we can, at this distance of time, judge of the colonel's character, it partook largely of those elements which has placed New England, despite its " barren sands and rock bound shores," in the vanguard of material prosperity as well as moral purity, and intellectual supremacy. Deprived of his parents in child- hood, he became the protege of Abraham Jackson, his maternal grandfather, and was early trained to commercial pursuits. In the prosecution of these, he made several voyages to Europe, during which he visited England, Spain and Holland, adding largely to his self-dependence, and by his ready powers of observance accu- mulating a valuable fund of jinformation, with which to grace the positions of trust to which he was soon to be called. When the French war of 1740 broke out, he was settled at Stockbridge. His supe- rior acquirements and executive ability, added to his military talent and taste pointed him out as the suitable military commandant of his district, and he was accordingly commissioned as captain, and was entrusted with the charge of all the Massachu- setts line of forts west of the Connecticut river. To meet the exigencies of this important command, he made his head quarters at Fort Massachusetts, " which stood not far from the north-eastern end of Saddle mountain, within the present township of Adams, and on the eastern border of Hoosac river. " Already a few adventurous pioneers had commenced a settlement within the present township of Williamstown. The struggles and denials of these hardy settlers, excited the commiseration and lively sympathy of Col. Williams, and even at that early date, while furnishing them protection and deliverance from the in- cursions of their savage foe, he gave them intimations of his future beneficence and care. A letter of his, now extant, dated Northfield, 12th October, 1745, apprises the colonial commissioners at Albany, of an attack by the French and Indians upon the frontier posts of New England. In August, 1746, with what force could be conveniently spared from the thinly garrisoned forts under his command, he joined Gov. Clinton at Albany, in the long talked of, but never executed project of invasion against the French settlements at the north. During his absence, Fort Massachusetts was invested, and after a gallant resistance, captured by the enemy, under Rigaud de Vaudreuil, and its small garrison taken prisoners to Canada. In 1748, Fort Massachusetts, having been rebuilt, was garrisoned with one hundred men, and again placed in the charge of Col. Ephraim Williams, the com- mand of the northern and western frontier being devolved upon Col. John Stoddard, 37 290 HISTOEY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. hundred Mohawks led by King Hendrick, the sachem of the upper castle of that tribe, were detailed for this service. Before starting, King Hendrick mounted a gun carriage, and addressed of Northampton, his superior officer. On the 2d of Auprust, a party of 200 French and Indians invested the fort. A scouting party of four men was fired upon, which first betrayed the presence of the enemy. Capt. Williams sallied forth at the head of thirty men to their relief. He succeeded in rescuing them but was drawn into an ambush, by which he afid his little force were placed in imminent jeopardy, a party of thirty Indians moving in his rear to intercept his return. By determined bravery and rapidity of movement, however, he succeeded in reaching the fort with the loss of one man killed and two wounded, one of whom was Lieutenant Hawley. The French account of this aflFair, with customary gasconade reports five Englishmen killed, while the French loss was one Huron and one Iro- quois wounded. As they had no artillery, after a desultory musketry fire of more than two hours, the French retired from the contest. In recognition of his great military abilities he was in 1754-5, successively pro- moted to the grade of major, lieutenant colonel and colonel. With the opening of the campaign of the latter year he, with his regiment, was assigned to duty on the northern frontier, and his command was ordered to rendezvous at Albany. While there, on the 22d of July, he made his will, with what foreboding or pre- science of his impending fate none can say. " In this instrument, after giving certain legacies to his connections, he directed, that the remainder of his land should be sold, at the discretion of his executors, within five years after an established peace ; and that the interest of the monies, arising from the sale, and also the interest of his notes and bonds, should be ap- plied to the support of a free school in a township west of Fort Massachusetts provided the said township fell within Massachusetts bay, upon running the line between that province and New York, provided the said township when incor- porated should be called W^illiamstown. " The property designated in this bequest, was loaned on interest ; and, after an accumulation of thirty years, was considered as a fund sufficient to warrant the institution of the free school contemplated in the will. The spot pointed out was, June 30th, 1785, incorporated by the name of Williamstown. In 1785, nine gentle- men were appointed trustees for the management of the donation, and the free, school to which it was to give birth. In 1788, thej' voted to erect a building. The legislature granted them a lottery, which yielded $4,000, and the inhabitants con- tributed $2,000 more. In 1790, they built a brick edifice, eighty-two feet in length, and forty-two in breadth, of four stories, on the middle eminence in the principal street It contained twenty-eight rooms and a chapel. The expense of erecting it was 11,700 dollars, and the remainder of the fund was about the same sum. " The school was opened in October, 1791, under the superintendency of Mr. Ebenezer Fitch, now Rev. Dr. Fitch, president of Williams College. It consisted of two establishments, an academy, and an English free school, and, under the direction of this gentleman, immediately became prosperous. A considerable number of students resorted to it from Massachusetts and the neighboring states, and even from Canada. In 1793, the legislature, being informed of its flourishing condition, erected it into a college, by the name of Williams College. The trustees of the free school were by the act of incorporation, constituted, together with four other gentlemen, including the president, trustees of the college. The trustees may be seventeen in number ; may fill all vacancies in their board ; and may hold property, the annual income of which shall be 20,000 dollars. In October of the IISTDIAN ELOQUENCE. 291 his followers in a strain of thrilling eloquence, that at once aroused their courage, and kindled their ferocious passions for the approaching fray. An eye witness, who did not under- stand a word of what was said, described it as the most affecting speech he ever heard. ^ The road, recently made, followed the course of a ravine ex- tending from the head of the lake nearly due south for a distance of several miles. The detachment headed by Colonel Williams took this route at nine o'clock in the morning, and in conse- quence of the intelligence received at midnight, supposed the enemy to be still in the vicinity of Fort Lyman ; and probably moved forward with less precaution than he would have done, if he had supposed the enemy nearer. At a point about two miles south of the encampment, near a place now known as Hendrick's spring, he halted, and was joined by the detachment of Mo- hawks, who, with their chief, passed to the front, and at ten o'clock resumed the march. King Hendrick was mounted on a small horse, loaned for the occasion, by his friend the general.^ Flanking parties were now thrown out, which advanced, cau- tiously beating the dense woods on the right and left. About one-third of a mile south of Bloody pond the ravine, same year the college commenced its operations by the admission of three classes of students. In 1794, a lot was purchased, and a house built for the president. The same year the legislature granted to the college 4,000 dollars ; and in 1796, two townships of land in the district of Maine. One of these townships was sold the following year for 10,000 dollars. With this sum, and an addition of 2,400 dollars, the trustees erected another brick building, one hundred and four feet in length, twenty-eight in breadth, of four stories, and containing thirty-two chambers." ' — DicigJit's Travels. From the scanty personal memorials of Col. Williams, now in existence, we glean the fact that he was a large, fleshy man, of fine and imposing exterior, of a kindly heart and pleasing address ; and, as a matter of course, enthusiastically beloved and looked up to by the men in his command. ' " Lieutenant Colonel Pomeroy who was present, and heard this effusion of In- dian eloquence, told me, that, although he did not understand a word of the lan- guage, yet such was the animation of Hendrick, the fire of his eye, the force of his gesture, the strength of his emphasis, the apparent propriety of the inflexions of his voice, and the natural appearance of his whole manner, that himself was more deeply affected with this speech, than with any other which he had ever heard. — DicigJit's Travels, vol. in, p. 357. ^ He lost his life by riding on horseback on one of Gen. Johnson's horses. His horse was shot under him, and he, being unwieldy and not able to disengage him- self and get away, was stabbed with a bayonet. T. Pownall to the Lords of Trade. — Documents Relating to the Colonial History of N. Y., vol. vi, p. 1008. 1 For most of these facts I am indebted to the History of Williams College, written by the Rev. Dr. Fitch, and published in Hist. Coll., vol. vm. 292 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. through which "Williams's detachment proceeded, is narrowed by the abrupt shoulder of a hill projecting from the west, while on the east the sharp acclivity and rugged sides of French mountain abut the narrow defile. At its base creep the shim- mering waters of a rivulet known as Rocky brook. When within a short distance of the ambush, a herd of deer, probably driven forward by the French advance, rushed violently down the defile, and effected their escape by breaking through the ranks of the advancing party. Still, no apprehensions were en- tertained of the proximity of the enemy, and they continued to advance in fearless confidence, the entire command marching in double files along the road, until entered some distance within the jaws of the ambuscade, when reaching a small emi- SOIENGARAHTAH, OR KING HENDRICK nence, t!.e keen sighted Ilendrick suddenly halted and ex- claimed to Williams who was near him : "I scent Indians." A few Mohawks pushed out into the thick undergrowth of bushes, and the detachment moved cautiously forward for a short dis- KING HENDRICK. 293 tance, when one of the French allies called out " whence came you ? " " From the Mohawks," was the reply, " whence came you ? " returned Hendrick, to which was answered Montreal, ac- companied with a few scattering shots, followed shortly by the terrific Indian war-whoop, and a destructive volley of musketry from the woods and rocks on the right. Shortly afterward, a heavy fire was poured in by the Canadians on the left. King Hendrick's horse was killed by the first fire, and he was soon after despatched with a bayonet.' ^ The advancing files of Pro- vincials, wholly unprepared for the unexpected encounter, made but a feeble resistance while at the first alarm the Mohawks took promptly to cover, (a) ' " The Mohawks stood their ground and fought bravely, until Hendrick fell, shot through the back, when they were thrown into confusion. The dying chief, with an Indian's pride, spent his latest breath in lamentations, lest such a death might leave a stain upon his memory.'' — Durfee's Hist, of Williams College, p. 44 The version given in the text is doubtless the correct one. {a) SoiENGARAHTAH, Or KiNG Hendrick, as he was more commonly known to the English, was the Tekarahogea, or great war chief of the Iroquois confederacy, for nearly the first half of the eighteenth century, and for the same length of time held the proud preeminence as head sachem of the powerful Mohawk tribe. Of his birth, parentage, infancy and childhood, but very scanty memorials exist. There are circumstances on record which lead to the inference that he may have been born somewhere from 1680 to 1690. It is generally conceded that he was one of the Indians referred to by Addison in his account of the Mohocks published about the year 1713. He was a savage of more than ordinary humanity, com- manding talents, and influence, great judgment and skill, and as an orator unex- celled, as many anecdotes still related of him go to show. He visited England again about the year 1740, where he received many attentions and was the reci- pient of several valuable presents, among which was the celebrated suit of green and gold and fine brussels lace presented by his majesty, George the Second. In this, the portrait was taken from which our illustration is copied. The earlier por- tion of his life was passed at the upper castle of the Mohawks, now known as Canajoharie ; afterward he made his residence at or near a place called the Nose on the north side of the Mohawk river. During all his life he was the fast friend and firm ally of the English, and doubtless contributed more than any other one cause toward retaining for that nationality the services and good will of the turbulent, restless and warlike tribe, of which he was for years the constant inspiration and controlling spirit. Some of his speeches are on record, and of them it has been justly said, " they contain strains of eloquence which might have done honor to Tully or Demosthenes." He was almost idolized by his tribe who followed him to the field far or near with all that implicit confidence and faith which even among the Caucassian races characterize the following of a brave and successful leader. The map of the en- gagement at the head of Lake George, shows that Hendrick had advanced fear- lessly far within the ambush planted by the French general ; and his corpulent form, arrayed in its brilliant uniform mounted upon a white pony, made him a conspicuous target for his hereditary enemies. The late Judge William Hay, wliose scholarly acquirements, patient research, and careful investigation entitle 294 ' HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Colonel Williams, perceiving the firing to be the heaviest from the ascent to the right, ordered his troops to charge up the hill with the hope of turning the enemy's flank, and gain- ing a more elevated and commanding position. This was attempted, but they had no sooner changed front and advanced, than a destructive volley was poured in upon them from the thickly guarded summit, and the thinned ranks, stunned, swayed backward, closed up in a confused mob and fled panic stricken from the scene of action. Colonel Williams fell dead at the head of his column.^ The command now devolved upon Lieut. Colonel Whiting, who, after a while, succeeded in restoring a degree of order among the fugitives. A temporary stand was made at the Bloody pond, behind which the troops rallied, and the French were held in check for several minutes by the determined and resolute bravery of the Provincials. Compelled at length from the numerical superi- ority of the enemy to give way, they resumed their retreat, constantly holding the pursuers in check by a scattering but well aimed fire from every cover, which could be made available on the route. The echoes of the protracted firing, had been heard with gradually approaching nearness at the head of the lake, and hurried preparations were made for placing the camp in a defensible condition, for as yet no line of intrenchments had been thrown up, or any cover, redout, rifle pit or fortifica- tion constructed to retard the progress of the enemy. The trunks of the trees, already fallen, were hastily piled up as a sort of rude breast work in front, while the flanks and rear were protected by seven field pieces and two mortars. The roadway his opinions to great weiglit and consideration, after making several measure- ments and looking the ground well over, reached the conclusion that he had found the place where the old Sachem fell by the side of a boulder which crowns a lull a short distance north of Mr. George Brown's Hotel, and which he designated and marked as King Hendrick's rock. A monument at this point would be but a fitting tribute to the brave chieftain's devotion and chivalry.^ ' Notwitlistanding sundry guide books to the contrary, all accounts worthy of credit, concur in stating that Col. Williams fell at the head of his column in the early part of the engagement. He was shot through the head, and fell dead upon the spot. His body was hidden by two of his comrades, near the rock which bears his name to prevent its mutilation by the savages. After the action it was buried by the side of the old military road at the foot of a pine tree. This place was originally designated by a small granite slab marked E. W. About forty years since, Dr. William H. Williams (nephew of the colonel) of Raleigh, N. C, exhumed the skull, and carried it off. The statement that the ' Compiled chiefly from the acconnt contained in SchoolcrafVs Notes on the Iroquois, p. 413. THE BLOODY MORNING SCOUT. 295 was also commanded by four large caunon advantageously posted. While these dispositions were being made, Lieutenant Colonel Cole was despatched with three hundred men to the assistance and relief of the defeated detachment. He met the flying troops a little to the north of the Bloody pond, and checked, by a well timed volley, the pursuit of the enemy, and covered the retreat of the fugitives into camp. So furious and disastrous had been this brief engagement, that on reaching camp, the numbers of the French were greatly magnified by entire remains were subsequently removed is doubtless an error. The pine bas fallen, but two tbrifty scions, till within a few years, shaded the grave where the warrior sleeps. When the monument was put up, the grave was refilled and a pyramidal boulder still remaining, placed upon it, bearing the plain inscription E. W. 1755. In the year 1854, a plain marble shaft was placed by the alumni of Williams College, upon the rock which bears his name. It contains the follow ing inscriptions. EAST SIDE. To the memory of COLONEL EPHR AIM WILLIAMS. A native of Newton, Mass., who, after gallantly defend- ing the frontiers of his native state, served under General Johnson against the French and Indians, and nobly fell near this spot in the bloody conflict of Sept. 8th, 1755, in the 42d year of his age. NORTH SIDE. A lover of peace and learning, as courteous and gene- rous as he was brave and patriotic, Col. Williams sympathized deeply with the privations of the frontier settlers, and by his will, made at Albany, on his way to the field of battle, provided for the founding among them of an institution of learning, which has since been chartered as Williams College. "WEST SIDE. Forti ac magnanimo EPH. WILLIAMS, Collegii Gulielmi Conditori ; Qui in hostibus patriae repellendis, prope hoc saxum cecidit ; grati alumni posuerunt, A. D. 1854. SOUTH SIDE. This Monument is erected by the alumni of William's College; the ground donated by E. H. ROSEKRANS, M. W. PERRINE, J. HAVILAND. This monument and the scenes around it are now classic ground to every educated American, and are annually visited by hundreds, eager to pay the tri- bute of a pilgrimage to the shrine of a hero and patriot. 296 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. the terrified survivors, while, as usual on such occasions, their own powers and achievements were greatly exaggerated. Thus terminated the battle long known in fireside story and oral tradition, as the bloody morning scout, which resulted in disaster and humiliation to the English cause, and well nigh terminated the fortunes of the day. The loss of the English in this encounter was two hundred and sixteen dead, and ninety- six wounded.^ Among the officers slain were Colonel Williams ; Major Ashley; Captains Hawley, Porter, and Ingersoll; Lieu- tenants Cobb, Pomeroy,and Burt ; Ensigns Stratton and "Wait, of Col. Williams's regiment alone.^ Also Captain Farrell, brother- in-law of Gen. Johnson, who was in command of a party of In- dians, Captains Stoddard, Kies and Stevens, all of whom were noted as Indian fighters,^ and officers of ability and repute. The French and their Indian allies also lost heavily in this af- fair. Among the killed was M. de St. Pierre, the leader of the Indians, an officer of distinction and merit, whose loss was greatly deplored by the savages under his command. But few prisoners were taken on either side, as nearly all were de- spatched by the tomahawk and scalping knife as soon as they had fallen, both parties being at short intervals in possession of the battle-field. Of the Mohawks thirty-eight were killed, and twelve wounded. Those who survived declined further partici- pation in the action of the day. They still remained with the army to watch the fortunes of the battle, and seize upon any opportunity which might present to secure scalps. They be- wailed the loss of their brave and fkvorite chief, and it was with difficulty that they were restrained after the battle from execut- ing their vengeance on the persons of the unfortunate captives. ' Letter from Dr. Williams, surgeon of Col. Williams's regiment, quoted by Dicight in bis Iravels, vol. in, p. 354. * Gen. Johnson to the governors of the several colonies. Doc'y. Ilist. N. T., vol. II, p. 693. " Very few were made prisoners, for the principal part that fell into the hands of the enemy were dispatched with the tomahawk, among whom was Captain Porter. He was seized by the Indians, tied to a tree, and barbarously hacked in pieces." — Hoyt's Antiquarian BesearcJies, p. 278. ' " Captain Kies was a soldier under the unfortunate Lovewell, in the expedition against the Pigwackets, in 1734, and was there severely wounded. In the retreat of Williams's shattered detachment, he received a mortal wound, was left resting against a tree and tomaliawked. Like Lieutenant Bobbins in Lovewell's aflfair, he retjucstcd his friends to leave him a loaded musket, and when the Indians came up, the rei)ort of his gun was heard, and the next day he was found mangled at the place where he was left." — Id. DEATH OF KING HENDRICK. 297 The son of Hendrick on being iuformed that bis father was killed, gave the usual groan ou such occasions, and suddenly putting his hand on his left breast, swore that his father was still alive in that place, and stood there in his son.^ The san- guinary skirmish just recorded, was partly fought within the present limits of the town of Queensbury. Intent upon following up his success, Dieskau pressed on at the head of his regulars, who moved steadily forward in the narrow roadway, until within musket shot of the barricade, when they commenced tiring by platoons.^ In his eftbrt to urge the Canadians forward on the flank, the brave baron received three gun shot wounds in the thighs of both legs, which at once dis- abled him, and he was placed for security behind a tree. About the same time a fierce assault was made on the right of the English camp by the Canadians and Indians. The echoes of the artillery, however, speedily discouraged the latter and they soon retired from the conflict, and seeing the enemy retreating, the sturdy provincials leaped the barricade and followed hotly ' Drake's Book oftlie Indians.. — Book v, p. 40. " About half an hour after eleven, the enemy appeared in sipfht, and marched along the road in very regular order directly upon our centre ; they made a small halt about 150 yards from our breast- work, when the regular troops (whom we judged to be such by their bright and fixed bayonets) made the grand and centre attack. The Canadians and Indians squatted and dispersed on our flanks. The enemy's fire we received first from their regulars in platoons, but it did no great execution, being at too great a distance, and our men defended by the breast-work. Our artillery then began to play on them, and was served under the direction of Captain Eyre, during the whole engagement, in a manner very advantageous to his character, and those concerned in the management of it. The engagement now became general on both sides. The French regulars kept their ground and order for some time with great resolution and good conduct, but the warm and constant fire from our artillery and troops put them into disorder ; their fire be- came more scattered and unequal, and the enemy's fire on our left grew very faint. They moved then to the right of our encampment, and attacked Colonel Euggles, Colonel Williams, and Colonel Titcomb's regiment, where they main- tained a very warm fire for near an hour, still keeping up their fire in the other parts of our line tho' not very strong. The three regiments on the right supported the attack very resolutely, and kept a constant and strong fire upon the enemy. This attack failing, and the artillery still playing along the line, we found their fire very weak, with considerable intervals. This was about four o'clock, when our men and the Indians jumped over the breast-work, pursued the enemy, slaugh- tered numbers, and took several prisoners, amongst whom was the Baron de Dies- kau, the French general of all the regular forces lately arrived from Europe, who was brought to my tent about six o'clock, just as a wound I had received was dressed. Th^vhole engagement and pursuit ended about seven o'clock." Gen. Johnson to the Board of Trade. Body Hist, of JH. Y., vol. ii, p. 693. 38 298 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. in pursuit for some distance. The command of the French forces now devolved upon the Chevalier de Moutreuil, who or- dered the retreat to be sounded, after vainly endeavoring to persuade the baron to be carried from the field on a litter. A little while later, the baron was again shot through the hips by a renegade Frenchman, who approaching him to rifle liim, mis- took a movement of the baron, who put his hand in his pocket to surrender his watch, and supposed that he was hunting for a pistol to shoot him. The general exclaimed " You rascal why did 3'ou fire at me ? you see a man lying on the ground bathed in blood, and you fire, Eh ?" He answered " how did I know but you had a pistol ? I prefer to kill the devil, than that the devil kill me." " You are a Frenchman, then ? " " Yes" he re- plied. " It is more than ten years since I left Canada."^ The baron, after being plundered and stripped, was conveyed to the English camp, and every pains taken to render his condition comfortable. He was afterwards conveyed in a litter to Fort Edward, and thence to New York, where he complained bitterly of falling into the hands of unskillful surgeons. He went to England and was not exchanged until after peace was declared. He died about the commencement of the American revolution, of the wounds received in this engagement. Early in the ac- tion General Johnson received a painful wound in the hip which disabled him from any further duty. The command of the English forces fell upon Major General Lyman, who with great spirit and energy conducted the defense and to whom a great portion of the day's success is justly due. The same morning, intelligence being brought by Indian runners to Fort Lyman, that some wagoners on the Avay to Lake George had been waylaid and killed, a party of sixty men belonging to a 'New Plampshire regiment, was sent out to scour the woods, which, on the report of the firing in th.e morning engagement, was strengthened by a reinforcement of two hun- dred men from the New York, and New Hampshire regiments, under the command of Capt. McGinnis, with orders to proceed to the assistance of the troops at the head of the lake. When they had reached a point in the road about four miles from the head of the lake, they came upon the enemy's baggage (for it seems the French had no thought and had made no provision for an attack in the rear), under the guard of five*or six men, ^ Documents relating to tJie Colonial History of New York, vol. x, p. 3-43. BLOODY POND. 299 who had clambered to the top of a neighboring eminence to ob- tain a lookout towards the lake. Placing a heavy ambush in the vicinity of the baggage and making their way, unperceived by the guard, they passed over the hill and came unexpectedly upon a party of three hundred Canadians and Indians who were sitting by a small body of water in the valley beyond. These were skulkers who had dropped out of Dieskau's ranks, and were refreshing themselves from the contents of their packs as they were seated around the margin of the pond. The pro- vincial officers, urged on by their men, determined to make an attack, and cautiously surrounded the enemy without being dis- covered. At a given signal a withering lire was delivered, which slaufijhtered o-reat numbers. The few survivors sprang up and before being put to flight rallied to the attack and a fierce skirmish ensued, in which twelve of the Americans were killed, and Captains McGinnis and Folsom, their commanding officers, were seriously wounded. It was in this famous affair that the celebrated ranger and scout Robert Rogers made his debut in action.^ The Baron de Lon- gueil who was \p. command of the Canadians and Indians, was also reported as being mortally wounded at this time.^ Tradi- tion stares that the bodies of the dead, to the number of two hundred and upwards, were rolled into the pool, and that sur- vivors of the action walked dry shod over the pond on the piled up corpses. For weeks the waters bore the sanguinary stain of the carnage, and gave to this stagnant forest pool, the sig- nificant name of Bloody pond.^ After defeating this party, ^ Hoyt's Antiquarian Researches, p. 281. " Relation of M. de Vaudreuil. Doc's, relating to the Colonial Hist, of N. Y., vol. x.-p. 323. ' " Immediately beyond Fort Edward the country assumed a dreary, cheerless aspect. Between this and Lake George, a distance of about twelve miles, it was almost an entire wood, acquiring a deeper gloom, as well from the general preva- lence of pines, as from its dark, extended covert being presented to the imagination as an appropriate scene for the treasons, stratagems and spoils of savage hostility. It was in this tract of country that several actions had been fought ; that Baron Dieskau had been defeated ; and that American blood had flowed, as well as En- glish and French ; in commemoration of which, the terror we attach to the adven- titious circumstances which seem to accelerate man's doom, had given to a piece of standing water, near the road the name ' Bloody pond.' The descending sun had shed a browner horror on the wilderness ; and as we passed the dismal pool, we experienced that transient emotion of commiseration, which is natural to the mind, when contemplating past events, involving the fall of friends, the fortune of war and the sad lot of human kind. Denique ob casus hcUorum et aortem Iwminum." — Graydon's Memoirs. 300 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBUET. the English detachment in pursuance of orders contyiued on towards the camp, and came up just as the French were retreat- ing, firing upon them, taking several prisoners and giving the finishing stroke to their defeat.^ Of the French who escaped, several who went in good faith to take their baggage were killed.^ The scene of this ambuscade is supposed to be at the crest of the hill just north of George Brown's half-way-house. After sundown the stragglers of the Canadians and Indians, joined the regulars who had escaped to the mountain, and half a league further on, thej bivouacked for the night. The locality of this halt is believed to have been at the outlet of the Big pond, at the foot of French mountain. Thus terminated this eventful day, in which the first English victory of the campaign had been achieved; the untaught pro- vincials found themselves matched against, and conquerors of the disciplined troops, fresh from continental fields of fame. Its remote bearings and immediate effects cannot well be over estimated, being'most important to the future of the American colonists, and the success of the English arms. England promptly recognized its value by conferring on General John- son, a baronetcy, and ^5000, the only titular acknowledgment ever made by the British crown to its colonial dependents. This day's work, whose leading events have been here re- corded, was but the terrible prelude to the tragic scenes of a series of frontier struggles which blended the tramp of mar- shalled hosts, the clash of arms, the savage yell of defiance, the bugle call of alarm and the psean of victory; that only ter- minated in the expulsion of the French from that broad domain which stretches from the head waters of the Beautiful river to the frigid fastnesses of the Arctic circle. In this protracted struggle the long line of the wilderness border, of which Queens- bury was the centre, was sodden with the life blood of five generations of warriors, comprising the flower of our forest chivalry. The remainder of the season was consumed in com- Alexander Graydon was despatched by the continental authorities, in the first year of the revolutionary war, with a quantity of specie to pay off the troops under Schuyler in the northern department. At Fort Edward he met, on their return, Franklin, Carroll, and Chase, the commissioners who had been fruitlessly de- 8i)atched by congress, to induce the Canadians to join the Americans in throwing off the British yoke. It was on this excursion that the foregoing was written. ' T. Pownall to the lords of trade. Documents relating to the Colonial Hist, of N.Y. Seevol. vi,p. 1008. "^ Ihid, vol. X, p. 323. M. de Vaudreuil to M. de Machault. FORT WILLIAM HENRY. 301 pleting the defenses at the head of Lake George, and the erec- tion of a substantial fortification, which was named in honor of William Henry ' the duke of Cumberland, and brother of King George the third. ' Col. Montressor, in a communication to Capt. Greeh, states that " Major Eyre began Fort William Henry, in September, and it was finished by the end of November, following, being an irregular square of about 300 feet each side with Provincials alone and that without any expense." — Doc. Hist, of N. T., vol. rv, p. 525. William Etke was appointed, 7th January, 1756, major of the 44th foot which suffered so much in Braddock's expedition ; he built, the same year. Fort William Henry, at the head of Lake George, since celebrated by Col. Munro's gallant defense of that post in 1757. In January, 1758, Maj. Eyre was commis- sioned engineer in ordinary ; and in July following, lieutenant colonel in the army, and afterwards lieutenant colonel of the 55th. In the course of Amherst's campaign, he was engaged in strengthening Fort Edward, and in July, 1759, was appointed chief engineer of the army, and soon after laid out the ground for a new fon at Ticonderoga. In the month of October, 1759, he became lieutenant colonel of his old regiment, the 44th. He accompanied Amherst from Oswego to Montreal in 1760, and remained in America until 1764, in the fall of which year he was unfortunately drowned, in the prime of his life, on his passage to Ireland. In his profession as an engineer, he was exceedingly eminent, and an honor to his country, having arrived at that rank solely by his merit. The service and the army, to whom he was a shining ornament, sustained a very considerable loss by his death. — Wilson's Orderly Book, p. 27-8, note. Munsell's Historical Series. 302 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. CHAPTER III. Events following the Battle at Lake George. — Engagement at THE Half-way brook, in 1756 — Incursion of Canadians and Indians under Marin — Prisoners Captured near Fort Ed- ward — Investment, Capitulation and Surrender of the Garrison at Fort William Henry — Scenes of Massacre FOLLOWING — Close of the Campaign on the Northern Border. ^T an early period in the French war, a block house and stockaded enclosure had been erected at the Half-way brook/ partly as a depot for provisions, and military stores, and partly as a resting place for soldiers and teamsters on their way to and from the important posts of Fort William Henry and Fort Edward. The date of its construction would seem to have been in 1755, for in that year the French scouts and runners, reported to their chief tnat the English had erected posts eveiy two leagues from the head of Lake George to Albany, This post was strengthened and en- larged materially in 1759, and the name of Fort Amherst con- ferred upon it in honor of the commander-in-chief of the English army. It was situated on the north side of the brook, and to the west of the plank road leading to the head of Lake George. The old military road led across the brook about four rods above the present crossing. A part of the old abutments, tim- bers and causeway are yet visible. It was capable of accommo- dating upwards of eight hundred men, and was protected by redoubts, rifle pits, earthworks, and a palisade of hewn timbers.^ ^ On a manuscript map of Lake George, entitled a plan of Lake George, and tlio country adjacent, on file in the State Library at Albany, Half-way brook is laid down as Sclioone creek. The map has no date but is evidently very old. Another manuscript map, compiled for the Earl of Loudoun, in 1757, has the Half way brook, marked as Forks creek. * In a communication to the author, dated May 20th, 1870, the venerable Dr. Lemuel C. Paine, of Albion, Orleans co. (since deceased), writes as follows : " The scenery about the crossing of the Half-way brook, as it then ap]ieared, is deeply im- pressed upon my mind. The house, as has been previously intimated, was built of logs. The chimney was large and built of bricks from the foundation, and had the appearance of having had at least one building burned around it before this was built. It was what was called a double log house. Before it, on the south side, stood two large trees commonly called in this country the balm of Gilead trees. ENGAGEMENT AT THE HALF WAT BROOK. 303 During the summer of 1756, a force of six hundred Canadians and Indians attacked a baggage and provision train at the Half- way brook, while on its way from Fort Edward to the garrison at Fort William Plenry.' The oxen were slaughtered, the convoy mostly killed and scalped, and the wagons plundered of their goods and stores. Heavily laden with booty, the marauding party commenced its retreat towards South bay on Lake Charaplaiu. Embarking ia batteaux they were proceeding leisurely down the lake when they were overtaken by a party of one hundred rangers under the command of Captains Putnam and Rogers. These latter had with them two small pieces of artillery, and two blunder- busses, and at the narrows, about eight miles north of Whitehall, they crossed over from Lake George, and succeded in sinking several of the enemy's boats, and killing several of the oarsmen. A heavy south wind favored the escape of the remainder.^ Sometime in midsummer, Lord Loudoun visited Fort Edward, and Fort William Henry, and after the surrender of Oswego, moved so large a force in that direction, as to change the plans of the enemy, who had contemplated an attack upon that im- portant post at the head of Lake George. In Montcalm's official papers,^ and other French accounts of the campaign of 1756, it is stated that on the twenty-second of July in that year, a courier arrived at Isle Royal with the in- Some half a mile nortli-easterly of the house, more or less, were Walter Briggs'a mills, on the Half-way brook, the pondage of which setting back nearly or quite as far as the bridge near the house. On the east bank of which, and a little north of the house were the remains of the old barracks. (Elsewhere described as the Garrison ground). Here, and in their vicinity I have picked up small pieces of coin, bullets and other things pertaining to an encampment of soldiers quite plentifully. Over the brook north-westerly were the remains of intrenchments running in lines, longer or shorter for a considerable distance. I have walked all through these, and in many places I remember the sides of the ditches were higher than my head." ' ' Fitch's Historical Survey, p. 916. In Trans. N. T. State Agricultural Society, for 1848. ^ Kogers's journal contains no account corresponding to this affair, and but for the authority of Dr. Fitch, I should be inclined to look upon the account as apoc- . ryphal. ' Vide Documents relating to the Colonial History of N". Y., vol. x, pp. 483, 488, 533. A further account (p. 490) says there were iifty-two soldiers and three officers, and that only one escaped. One account asserts that the attacking party were all Indians, except the commanding officer. 1 Among the manuscript maps in the State Libraiy at Albany, is one without date, hut very old on which'the post at Hail'-way brook is represented by Z3 laid' down just west of the old military- road and north of the creek. This would seem to Bettle the question of location. 304 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT, telligence that Lieut. Marin, of the French marine, having been despatched with one hundred men, and a party of Indians to reconnoiter the enemy's camp, they encountered near the head of Lake George a force of between fifty and sixty men ; that nearly all of them were killed, four being carried away as pri- soners, and only one of the party escaped to carry the news of the disaster to the Eno-Hsh commander. As this account makes no mention of baggage or oxen, it is supposed to have been one of the several murderous aflrays which have taken place at the Bloody pond ; and is not to be confounded with the affair previously narrated. A contemporaneous. account esti- mates the English force at the head of Lake George at about nine thousand men. About the same time a party of the Iroquois, led by a Cana- dian, stopped sixteen English horsemen on their way to Lake George. Of these nine were killed, and seven taken prisoners. The latter, with the plunder and horses, were taken to Carillon. On the second of Auo:ust, six cadets belonojins: to the French regulars, fell in with a party of fifteen English near Lake George, of whom thirteen were killed, and two made prisoners. ^ The campaign of 1757^ was prolific in scenes of bloodshed ^Documents relating to the Colonial History of N. Y., vol. x, p. 530-1. * It was during this year as nearly as can be ascertained that the following events, related by the late Judge Hay, transpired., " During the, French war, three officers of whom Seth Warner was one while riding on horseback from Lake George towards Fort Edward, were waylayed between the Bloody pond and the upper picket p ist by Indians. At the only fire, which was a volley, Captain Coon was killed, as was another officer, whose name I have never known. War- ner's arm was broken, and his horse so disabled as to fall ; when its rider extri- cated himself, and on foot pursued Coon's horse nearly two miles to where, at the Meadow run, it stopped to drink. There Warner caught the uninjured horse, and, on his back, arrived, without further molestation, at Fort Edward, where surgical aid could be procured. The Sexagenary, p. 157, has the following version of the same affiiir. " While we held undisturbed possession of the posts at the north, it was a very common thing for the diffi-rent commanders to exchange visits. Colonel Warner of Fort Edward occasionally visited Fort George. On one of these occasions he was returning with two officers, all of them mounted on horseback. As they were passing the Bloody pond, where some hostile Indians had hid themselves behind an old tree, they received a volley of musketry from their concealed ene- mies. The two officers fell lifeless to the ground, and Colonel Warner was wounded as was the horse he rode. He put spurs to the bleeding animal and endea- vored to escape. One of the officer's horses followed him and the Indians pursued. As he rode on, his horse occasionally seemed ready to fall under him, and at other times would revive and appear to renew his strength. The other horse kept uj) with them, alternately increasing and relaxing his speed to keep pace with his wounded EXPEDITION AGAINST FORT WILLIAM HENRY. 305 along the frontier. Early in January a plan was matured for the capture of Fort William Henry. A force of fifteen hun- dred, regulars, Canadian soldiers, militia and Indians, under the command of the Sieur deEigaud de Vaudreuil, governor of Three Rivers, divided in four detachments, left Fort St. John on the twentieth of February, and the three following days. Effecting a junction at Carillon, they advanced on the fifteenth of March, and on the seventeenth arrived within a league and a half of Fort William Henry. Tradition states that th'eir ap- proach was made in the direction of the bold promontory that stretches down into the head waters of the lake, and that it hence derived the name of Frendh mountain. Through the vigilance of Captain John Stark, the approach of the enemy was discovered, and although the investment of the fort was continued until the twenty-second, the Indians being in pos- session of the Fort Edward road, no material loss was sus- tained by the English, beyond the destruction of four brigan- tines and a number of long boats and batteaux. The French loss in this undertaking, according to their own ofiicial report, was five Frenchmen killed, and one officer and one Indian wounded.^ " The garrison at the time of this attack was in the command of Major William Eyre, the distinguished military en- gineer, who planned and superintended the erection of the fort. The enemy were provided with three hundred scaling ladders and other appliances for carrying the place by assault ; and with the great disparity of forces, would doubtless have succeeded, companion. Tlie colonel in vain endeavored to seize the bridle wliicli hung over his neck, an expedient which promised to save him if his own steed should fail. In this manner, and with all the horrid anticipation of a cruel death before him, he managed to outstrip his pursuers until he reached Wing's corner at Glen's Falls. There, as the uninjured horse came along side, he made another attempt to seize his bridle, and succeeded. He instantly dismounted, unslung the saddle, threw it over the fence, mounted the horse and rode off at full speed. He saw no more of his pursuers from this moment, but reached Fort Edward in safety ; over- come, however, by his exertion, fatigue, and the loss of blood. What was also singular, was the arrival of his wounded horse, which lived to do good service in the field." N. B. There was neither fence nor building at Wing's corner then. ' Documents relating to the Colonial History of N. Y., vol. x, p. 545. Another version of the affair as given by M de Montcalm, Id., p. 549, states that the assail- ants destroyed by fire, " everything outside the fort, over 300 batteaux, 4 sloops, one of which was pierced for 16 guns, a saw-mill, a great pile of building timber and firewood, two magazines full of provisions and militarj- effects, a little stock- aded fort containing a dozen of houses or barracks to lodge the troops and their sick." 39 S3 o a ft 2 o a> m iH ^ cs !>" Pi ^ 1^ p^ W o 'a t^ 1^ < M II hj tr -^ HH q .H O O ^ H ■ .i p3 -S -^ O 5 1" -s P^ o o g ft-5 -S Cm =3^2 o a n> ~ c 2 "-< liing of tl iew S £-> o t. a> M 5 ft.S; CO c3 o *^ <_ tC o o ft §. copy the pers 03 fe S S a - F— OJ o ■» -^ -"05 •^ .H bo o — a o a .y m .- tj tj "Si -2 ~ -a « > ■a s •sgS E oD a' o p SJ m '5 " 2ft" EXPEDITION AGAINST FORT WILLIAM HENRY. 307 but for the spirited defense made. Early in the season small scalping parties infested the Lydins road, murdering and scalp- ing such stragglers as might be caught or ambushed from the camp at Fort Edward. This state of things was made the sub- ject of special appeal by Sir William Johnson to his friends and allies the Mohawks, to whom, as appears in his journal under the date of May 20th, he sent four strings of black wampum, to let their people know that the French and Indians had begun to scalp and take prisoners." ^ On the fifth of June, a detachment of ninety confederate In- dians in the French interest, under the leadership a of French officer attached to these nations who bad demanded of M. de Bourlamaque a sergeant and seven soldiers of the line whom he knew, ^ proceeded south, and avoiding the larger force at the head of the lake, attacked on the tenth a detail of pioneers with their escort between Fort Edward and Lake George, out of which they took four prisoners and three scalps, and suc- ceeded in effecting their return to the stronghold at Carillon without loss, although hotly pursued by the English, and forced to disperse. As early as the month of June, Montcalm had announced his intention of investing Fort William Henry, and had already gathered upwards of one thousand Indians, some of whom had come a distance of four or five hundred leagues to participate in the assault upon that important post. On the twelfth of July he left Montreal for Carillon, and stopping to chaunt the war song with various tribes of savages, reached that post on the eighteenth. Ilis presence was the signal for active prepa- rations to advance. One of his first movements was to dis- patch Lieut. Marin of the colonial forces with a detachment of one hundred and fifty men, mostly Indians, on a scout between the head of Lake George and Fort Edward. This partisan ar- rived near the latter post on the morning of July 23d. A patrol of ten men were first encountered, all of whom were killed. An advanced guard of fifty men met a like fate. A force of four thousand men was then advanced in line of battle and for two hours was exposed to a heavy fire from the enemy concealed in ambush; after which the latter retired with a loss ^Sto}ie's Life and Times of Sir William Johnson, vol. ii, p. 29. " Documents relating to the Colonial History of N. Y., vol. x, p. 6G9. See also p. 579 or another account, in which the officer in command is named as the Sieur d'Anglade. 308 HISTORY dF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. of one Canadian who died from exliaustion. The marauders bore off thirty-two scalps and one prisoner.^ On the 27th a grand council was held with the Indians ; on the 30th portions of the expedition commenced their march ; on the 3d of July the main force of regulars, with a siege train of artillery, debarked near the site of the old Caldwell mansion. The Chevalier de Levis was immediately sent forward in charge of the Indians to secure the Lydius road and the approaches to the fort from the south. During the succeeding six days, pending which, artillery firing, skirmishing, sorties and repulses were of daily occurence, Montcalm had advanced his parallels so near the fort that it was no longer tenable ; and on the ninth of August, Col. Monro having previously been informed by a communication forwarded by Montcalm, that he would not receive any assist- ance from General "Webb, at Fort Edward, hoisted the white flag and sent a messenger to demand terms of capitulation. These, if they had been observed, were honorable alike to the victors and the vanquished. Sufficient provision was made, according to the amenities of civilized warfare, for the protection of the prisoners of war, and the care of the sick and wounded, the munitions of war becom- ing as a matter of course, the property of the conquerors. Mont- calm's journal of the expedition states the French loss at 13 killed and 40 wounded. The English loss he estimates in round numbers at two hundred. The reduction of Fort William Henry ,^ and the surrender of its ill fated garrison, were followed by scenes of slaughter and carnage, which find few parallels in the pages of history. " The war whoop was given, and the Indians began to murder those that were nearest to them without distinction. It is not in the power of words to give any tolerable idea of the horrid scene that now ensued; men, women, and children were dis- patched in the most wanton and cruel manner, and immediately scalped. Many of these savages drank the blood of their vic- tims as it flowed warm from the fatal wound." ^ " My tent had been placed in the middle of the encampment ^ Documents relating to the Colonial Ilistori/ ofN. Y., vol. x, p. 503. Montcalm's journal of the expedition Id p. 599 states that 100 were killed, 38 scalped and two taken prisoners. ^ Invariably called Fort George by the French in their official correspon- dence and repoits for 1757. " Carver's Travels, p. 176. INDIAN CANNIBALS. 309 of the Outaouacs," writes Father Roubaud, a Jesuit missionary who accompanied Montcalm's expedition. " The first object which presented itself to my eyes on arriving there was a large fire, while the wooden spits fixed in the earth gave signs of a feast. There was indeed one taking place. But, Heaven ! what a feast ! The remains of the body of an Englishman was there, the skin stripped ofi^, and more than one-half of the flesh gone. A moment after I perceived these inhuman beings eat with famishing avidity of this human flesh ; I saw them taking up this detestable broth in large spoons, and apparently without being able to satisfy themselves with it. " They informed me that they had prepared themselves for this feast by drinking from skulls filled with human blood, while their smeared faces and stained lips gave evidence of the truth of the story." ^ No sooner had the articles of capitulation been signed, than the roadway and trails leading south were thronged by Indians, lying in wait for their victims. The savages, of whom there were three thousand present ^ representatives of thirty-three dis- tinct tribes, drawn from distances as far as the Ohio, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan on the west, and Acadia on the east, lured hither with the hope of plunder and carnage ; in- fiamed by long restrained passions, and infuriated by strong drink, which formed a part of their spoils, were in no mood to be robbed of their prey. Besides the stories of barbarity and cruelty, perpetrated on this occasion, tradition has handed down hints concerning valuables, money, jewelry and arms, thrown aside in the heat of pursuit, or abandoned when escape became hopeless, flung despairingly into the swamps and streams on the route of retreat. That Montcalm used his best endeavors to control and remedy the excesses of his savage allies, fair minded historians are willing to admit; but all too late he found he had employed forces beyond his control. He had ' Kip's Jesuit Missions, p. 155. There is abundant evidence to sliow that there Tvpre several cannibal tribes assembled on this occasion. An official French de- tail of the campaign {Col. Hist. N. ¥., vol. x, p. G27), states that among the tribes present, were Foxes from the Mississippi and " Aoais from the 'Western sea, who never before appeared in the country." ^" You know what it is to restrain 3000 Indians of 33 different nations, and I had but too many apprehensions which I did not conceal from the commandant of the fort in my summons." — Montcalm to Brig. Gen'l Webb 14th of Aug., 1757 Doc'ts relating to the Col. Hist, of New York, vol. x, p. 618. 310 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. sown the wind and was reaping the whirlwind.^ Among the niimher who rtm the ganntlet, and finally escaped hy running barefooted a distance of seven miles to the Half-way brook was Colonel, afterward General Jacob Bayley of New Hampshire.^ " In the confusion consequent upon the attack an Indian chief seized Colonel Frye, plundered and stripped him of his clothes even to shirt, and then led him into the woods in a di- rection and manner which left no doubt as to the design of the ferocious chief. Arriving at a secluded spot, where the colonel expected to meet his fate, he determined to make one efibrt for his life, and roused by desperation, with no other arms than those nature gave him, he sprang upon the savage, over- powered and killed him on the spot, and fleeing rapidly into a thick wood, he eluded the search of the other Indians. After wandering in various directions for several days, subsist- ing wholly on whortleberries, he reached Fort Edward, and joined his suftering companions."^ " Captain John Burk, of Frye's regiment, was seized, and after a violent struggle, stripped of the whole of his clothes, and after- wards escaped into the woods. Straying in various directions, he was overtaken by darkness in the margin of a morass, and unable to direct his course, lay down in the thick grass and passed the night, covered only by the damp vapor of the swamp. The next day he renewed his march, and fortunately arrived safely at Fort Edward. "At the time Colonel Munroe consented to the delivery of the private baggage to the Indians, Lieutenant Selah Barnard, ano- ther of Frye's officers, having with him a small trunk containing his eflects, resolutely determined not to part with it, unless by force. The trunk soon attracted thQ attention of the savages, and two stout fellows approaching to seize it, the lieutenant threatened theni with instant death, and for some time held the '" M. de Montcalm, who, on account of tlie distance of his tent, did not learn till a late hour what was goinfj on, at the very first news of this occurrence repaired to the spot with a speed which marked the {i;oodness and generosity of his heart. He multiplied himself, he seemed endowed with ubiquity, he was everywhere ; prayer, menaces, promises were used, he tried everything, and at last resorted to force." — Relation of Father Roubaud. Kijy's Jesuit Missions, p. 181. '^Memoir of Stark and Others, p. 828. Ebenezer Dow of Concord, N. H. " was a ranger in the time of the French and Indian war," and " was in the fight at Ticonderoga, Crown Point and Fort William Henry." " He said that at the massacre at Fort William Henry he heard the groans of the dying — praying and cursing — and the yells of savages, all mixed together." — Boutoa's Concords, p. 643. " Iloyt's Antiquarian Researches, p. 191. INDIAN MASSACRE. 3X1 trunk from their grasp. Others coming up, he was seized by each arm, plundered, and led off to be butchered. Being re- markably athletic, with his whole strength he sent them in different directions, and by a rapid flight rejoined his fellow sufferers. The savages took possession of the trunk and sub- mitted to his escape, and he reached Fort Edward without fur- ther misfortune." Speaking of this massacre,^ one of the French officers states as follows : " The English troops surrendered upon condition of not again serving within eighteen months, against his Chris- tian Majesty and his allies, and of being sent to New Eno-land. The French were to escort them half-way across the portage of Fort St. George, and they accordingly started with their arms and baggage, marching in a column with the detachment of escort. The Indians, whom curiosity had drawn around them although strictly forbidden by M. de Montcalm not to molest them, still foljowed, scattering through the woods of the gorge. As soon as the escort left the English, some of the Indians tried to provoke them, rather to try their endurance than with any other design, and seized a part of their equipage. Seeino- that the troops were embarrassed at what was done, and confused by their shouts, they began to strip them, perhaps incited to this by their French interpreters, who could not bear to see the English depart without their getting any such spoils, as they gained in Braddock's aftair, and therefore encouraged the In- dians to seize their equipage. They soon attacked them from every side, falling upon their equipage and stripping them. Those who resisted were killed, and the rest were taken pri- soners, to the number of twelve or fifteen hundred." ^ Five days after the capitulation, Montcalm despatched Lieut. Savourin of the La-Sarre regiment, together with the Sieurs de St. Luc de la Corue and Marin with thirty grenadiers and two ' Dr. James Cromwell of Lake George informs me, that while digg-ing cellars for his house (18G0) and vault for ice-house (1867), he exhumed thirteen skulls in a greater or less state of preservation. Other bones were found, but more decayed. These are believed to be the remains of a few of those massacred at this time. " Poudwfs MemoiiSyXol. i, p. 89. Hough's translation. In another paragraph he adds as follows : " The Indians, as they set out to return to their own country, carried with them a disease with which many died. Some of them seeing new graves, disinterred the dead to take their scalps, but unfortunately fonnd that they had died of the small pox, and the infection was thus given to the Indians. The Pouteotamis nation, one of the bravest and most strongly attached to the French, almost perished of this epidemic. We especially regretted some of the chiefs whom the French highly esteemed. 312 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. interpreters as an escort to Lieut. William Hamilton of the 35th foot, and bearing letters to Lord Loudoun and General "Webb. On the following day, Captain de Poulliaries of the Royal Rou- sillon regiment with an escort of two hundred and fifty soldiers accompanied the survivers of the massacre, with the " one piece of cannon, a six pounder " granted by the ninth article of capitu- lation, as a token of the Marquis de Montcalm's esteem for Lieutenant Colonel Monro and his garrison, on account of their honorable defense, to the post at the Half-way brook, where they met a like detachment from the garrison at Fort Edward, sent by General "Webb to receive them. According to the offi- cial statement of Gov. Vaudreuil upwards of four hundred pri- soners were forwarded, by this escort, which were procured from the Indians by threats, promises and rewards.^ An official detail of the events of the campaign of 1757, from the department of war at Paris states that a party of Englishmen were plundered on leaving the intrenchment; «four hundred were taken on the road and brought to the camp, the greater portion of the English officers happened to be among these.^ The evacuation and demolition of the fort was completed on the fifteenth of August, and the following day, Montcalm re- embarked with his forces for Carillon. Fort Edward was now the frontier post on the northern border. The French held undisputed possession of the lakes and port- ages; and their savage allies swept the forest trails and border hamlets, resistless and merciless; capturing prisoners at the very gate of the palisades and block-houses; carrying dismay to the scattering settlements along the New England boundary,^ ' " These officers having learned that the {rroater portion had gone to lie in am- bush on the Lidius road, where the English soldiers must necessarily pass, advised Colonel Munroe not to set out before the break of day, so as to be better able to control the Indians ; but they were no longer masters of them on the morrow." — Documents relating to the Colonial Hist, of N. Y., vol. x, p, G29. ^ lUd. ' The capture of the posts at Lake George, and the strength of Montcalm's army, threw the northern provinces into consternation, and the loss of Fort Edward was exi)ected to follow ; and that Montcalm would penetrate to Albany, if not to other points in the interior. On the first landing of the French army at Fort William Henry, General Webb called on the governments of New York and Massachusetts, for reinforcements of militia, and those of New York were soon in motion. Ruggles's and Chandler's regiments, in the county of Worcester, and \Yilliam9's andWorth- ington's in the county of Hampshire in Massachusetts, commenced their march for Fort Edward ; but previous to their arrival, Montcalm had returned down Lake George, to his stronj? post at Ticonderoga. In the mean time Gov. Pownell of CRUELTY AND CARNAGE. 313 and making the military highway through the town of Queens- bury a continuous scene of carnage, in which the fearful stories of Indian cruelty, the legends of the Blind rock, and nume- rous tales of hair breadth escapes, mingle in a confused horror, a night-raare of history, whose facts are not wholly susceptible of proof, whose traditions can not be denied as improbable. Massacliusetts ordered all the cavalry and a fourth part of the remaining militia of the province, excepting from York, Uukes county and Nantucket to march to Springfield on Connecticut river, under Sir William Pepperell as lieut. general of the province. Orders were also given for establishing a magazine at that place, and should the enemy advance upon the frontiers in force, Pepperell was to order " the wheels to be struck from all wagons west of Connecticut river, to drive off the horses, and to bring off all provisions which could be moved, and to destroy the remainder." — Hoyt's Antiquarian Besearches, p. 293. View op English Church and Fort Frederick, State Street, Albany, in 1745. 40 314 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. CHAPTER IV. Webb Superseded — A New Campaign Projected — Activity op THE Enemy — Engagement at Rogers's Rock — Preparations for THE New Campaign — Abercrombie's Defeat — Engagements and Massacres at Half-way Brook — At Fort Anne — Capture of Major Putnam — Affair at Cold Brook — Abercrombie breaks Camp at Lake Gteorge — End of CaiMpaign. [OON" after the capitulation and surrender of Fort William Henry, the infamous and contemptible Webb was relieved and superseded by Lord Lou- doun in the command of the British forces in North America. By his presence, a new spirit and energy was tem- porarily infused into the management of the colonial military aftairs. Oue of the earliest steps taken, was the reorganization of the already famous corps of rangers under the command of the noted partisan Robert Rogers.(a) It was augmented to the (a) Major Robert Rogers, a famous partisan of the French war, b. Dun- barton, N. H., ab. 1730 ; d. Eng. ab. 1780. The'son of an early Irish settler of D. He com. durincf the French war (1755-63) Rofjers's Hangers, — a corps renowned for their exploits. March 13, 1758, with 170 men, he fought 100 Fretich, and 600 Indians : after losing 100, and killing 150, he retreated. In 1759 he was sent by Amherst from Crown Point to destroy the Indian village of St. Francis ; which service he performed : 200 Indians were killed. In 1760, he was ordered by Am- herst to take possession of Detroit and other Western posts ceded by the French, which he accomplished. He next visited England, where he suffered from want, ilntil he borrowed the means to ])rint his journal, and present it to the king, who in 1765, a])p. him gov. of Michilimacinac. Accused of plotting to plunder the fort, and join the French, he was sent in irons to Montreal, and tried by a court martial. In 1769 he went to Eng., was presented to the king, but soon afterward was imprisoned for debt. He afterward, according to his account to Dr. Wheelock at Dartmouth, " fought 2 battles in Algiers under the dey." At the opening of the Revol., his course was such, that he was closely watched ; and in 1775, congress, whose prisoner he then was, released him on parole. Suspected by Washington of being a spy, he was secured in June, 1776, but, on being released by congress Boon after, openly joined the royal side, and, notwithstanding his parole of honor, accepted the commission of colonel, and raised the Queen's Rangers, a corps cele- brated throughout the contest. Oct. 21, 1776, he narrowly escaped being taken prisoncrr at Maniaroneck by a party sent out by Lord Stirling, and soon after went to Eng. He pnb. a concise account of N. A., Lond., 1765 ; Journals of the French War, 1765, repub. at Concord, 12mo, 1831, and entitled Reminiscences of the French War, with the Life of Stark ; and in 1766 the tragedy of PonteacJi. His Journal of the Siege of Detroit, &c., edited by F. B. Hough {MunseU's Hist. Series), 1860. — Drake's Dictionary of American Biography. APPEAL TO THE COLONIES. 315 proportions of a battalion by additions and volunteers from the regular service, who were instructed in a new code of tactics, expressly prepared by their leader for this new service. The main body of the army having been removed to Albany, this corps for a time constituted the only protection on the frontier, against the frequent incursions of predatory and marauding bands of savages, and their equally barbarous allies. In its fre- quent scouts and forays, the entrepot at the Half-way brook, was oftener than any other place the scene of its encampment or bivouac. The total failure of the last campaign in America — the re- peated and overwhelming disasters to the British arms, was the occasion not only of dissatisfaction in the colonies, but of sharp criticism and acrid debate in the national councils. Lord Loudoun was recalled, and, as a timely concession to the colonial troops, Pitt, the prime minister, " obtained the king's order, that every provincial ofl&cer of no higher rank than colo- nel should have equal command with the British, according to the date of their respective commissions."^ " The same express that bore the tidings of Lord Loudoun's recall convej-ed a circular letter from Mr. Pitt to the colonial go- vernors, declaring the determination of the British cabinet to repair, at any cost, the losses and disasters of the last campaign. To encourage the vigorous cooperation of the colonists, they were informed that his majesty would recommend parliament to grant the several provinces such compensation for the ex- penses which they might incur as their efforts should appear to justly merit, and that arms, ammunition, tents, provisions and boats would be furnished by the crown." ^ The appeal to the colonies for troops was promptly and gene- rously responded to with an effective force of over twenty thou- sand men, many of whom were trained in the rough school of border warfare, familiar with the arts and subtleties of savage strife, accustomed to the many exigencies of forest life, and taught from childhood in the mysteries and resources of wood- craft. As in previous years, the objective points of the campaign were Louisburg, Fort du Quesne, and the valley of the Ohio ;' ' Bancroft's Hist. U. S., vol. iv, p. 291. " Warburton's Conquest of Canada, vol. ii, p. 84. 'Oyo, or the beautiful river. — Kip's Jesuit Missions. Called by theFrencli La belle riviere, meaning the same. 316 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. and the French posts on Lake Champlain, which, in the j&gura- tive dialect of the Iroquois, was aptly designated as the door or gate of the country. The charge of the last named expedition, as being of chief importance, was assumed by the commander in chief in person, General Sir James Abercrombie, a veteran from the battle fields of Europe ; a favorite of Lord Bute a lead- ing member of the ministry. Associated with him, though occupying a subordinate posi- tion, was the young, spirited, and popular Lord Howe, whom all contemporaneous accounts concur in styling the flower of the English army, the knight " without fear, and without re- proach." While these preparations were in progress, the enemy at Carillon were alert and active, continually sending out scouting and foraging parties, which often pushed their daring and venturesome attacks to the very gates of the fortifications at Fort Edward. In the month of August, 1758, a party of fifty ran- gers were attacked between the last named post, and the Half- way brook, by a detachment of Canadians and Indians under the command of M. de Langy a French colonial ofiicer. Twenty- three of the English were killed, and five taken prisoners. The scalps and prisoners were conveyed to the French camp at Carillon. During the latter part of the month of February following, a convoy of thirty sleighs loaded with provisions, was attacked by a party of Indians while on its way from Fort Edward to the camp at the head of the lake. The sleighs were plundered and dispersed and four of the teamsters were scalped. On the twenty-eighth of the same month, Capt. Putnam (a) in command of a company of Connecticut provincials and a de- tachment of rangers were despatched on a reconnoisance to (a) Israel Putnam was born in Salem, Massachusetts, January 7th, 1718. In 1739, he removed to Pomfret, Conn. In 1755, he was appointed lieutenant of the 6th Company of the 3d Connecticut regiment, and was afterwards promoted to be captain. He rendered much service to the army in the neighborhood of Crown Point, as may be seen by the reports of his scouting parties in New York Doc. Hist., IV. In 1756, while near Ticonderoga, he was repeatedly in the most im- minent danger. He escaped in an adventure one night with twelve bullet holes in his blanket. In 1757, the legislature of Connecticut conferred the commission ' of major on Putnam, who served that year under Gen. Webb, at Fort Edward, and was attached to the army under Abercrombie, in 1758. In August of that year he was sent out with several hundred men to watch tlie motions of the enemy. Being ambuscaded by a party of equal numbers, a general but irregular action ISRAEL PUTNAM. 317 Ticonderoga. On his return he reported that six hundred Indians were encamped not far from the French intrenchments. On the tenth of March, by the order of Colonel naviland,(a) then in command at Fort Edward, Capt. Rogers, accompanied by thirteen officers part of whom were volunteers from the took place. He liad discharged his fusee several times, but at length it missed fire while its muzzle was presented to the breast of a savage, who, with his lifted hatchet, and a tremendous war whoop compelled him to surrender, and then bound him to a tree. At night he was stript, and a fire kindled to roast him alive, but a French officer saved him. The next day he arrived at Ticonderoga, and thence he was carried a prisoner to Montreal. He was soon after exchanged through the ingenuity of his fellow prisoner, Colonel Schuyler, and joined the army under Amherst, as lieutenant colonel in the 4th Connecticut regiment. In 1760, he accompanied the army from Oswego to Montreal. In 1763 commanded his regi- ment in the attack on Havana. In 1763, he rose to the rank of colonel, and accompanied an expedition against the western Indians, after which he returned to his farm. In 1770, he went to the Mississippi river to select some lands, but returned soon after, and was ploughing in his field in 1775, when he heard the news of the battle of Lexington. He immediately unyoked his team, left his plow on the spot, and without changing his clothes set off for Cambridge. In the battle of Bunker's hill he exhibited his usual intrepidity. When the army was organized by Gen. Washington at Cambridge, Putnam, who had been elected major general in June, 1775, was appointed to command the reserve. In August, 1776, he was stationed at Brooklyn, on Long Island. After the defeat of our army he went to New York, and was very serviceable in the city and neighborhood. In October, or November, he was sent to Philadelphia, to fortify that city ; in January, 1777, was directed to take post at Princeton, where he continued until the following spring, when he was appointed to the command of a separate army in the Highlands of New York. After the loss of Fort Montgomery, the com- mander-in-chief determined to build another fortification, and he directed Putnam to fix upon the site. To him belongs the praise of having chosen West Point. The campaign of 1779, which was principally spent in strengthening the works at this place, finished the military career of Putnam. A paralytic affection im- paired the activity of his body, and he passed the remainder of his days in retire- ment, retaining his relish for enjoyment, his strength of memory, and all the faculties of his mind. He died at Brooklyn, Conn., May 29, 1790, aged 72." — Wil- son's Orderly Book, {MunselVs Historical Series), pp. 56-7, note. (a) William Haviland was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 27th, or Innis- killing foot, on the 16th Dec, 1752, which regiment sailed from New York with the expedition under Lord Loudoun, June 20th, and arrived at Halifax, first July, 1757, whence it was afterwards sent to the river St. John, but was countermanded on the way, and ordered to New York, in consequence of the siege of Fort William Henry, on Lake George. In 1758, it formed part of the army sent under General Abercrombie, against Ticonderoga, and in 1759, accompanied General Amherst up Lakes George and Champlain, in which expedition Colonel Haviland commanded the van, or fi'ont column of the arnly, composed of the rangers, light infantry and grenadiers. On the evacuation of Ticonderoga, by the French, he was dispatched at the head of these troops in pursuit of the retreating enemy. On the army being divided, in 1760, Col. Haviland, now brigadier general, was placed in command of the division designed to proceed against Montreal, by way of the lakes. This force amounted 318 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. regular army, with one hundred and sixty-two privates, detailed from the corps of rangers, proceeded in the direction of Ticon- deroga on another reconnoitering expedition.^ Through the medium of deserters and prisoners the enemy became seasonably advised of this enterprise, and being informed that the party was to consist of four hundred men, took measures to ambush and cut oif its retreat. The first night's encampment was at the Half-way brook. The next was on the east side of Lake George near the JS^arrows. During their progress down the lake their movements were narrowly watched by the enemy who des- patched a force of seven hundred men up the west side of the lake to intercept and cut off'their retreat. " On the morning of the thirteenth," according to Rogers's journal, " a council of oflicers determined that the best course was to proceed by land upon snow shoes, lest the enemy should discover the party on the lake. Accordingly the march was continued on the west shore, along the back of the mountains, which overlooked the French advanced guard, and the party halted two miles west of them when they refreshed themselves until three o'clock." A mile and a half further on, the advanced guard of about one hundred Indians was encountered and driven back upon the main body under the command of the Sieur de la Durantaye, when the rangers being completely outflanked and greatly outnumbered were routed and defeated with great slaughter, the French account^ claiming that they brought back one hundred and forty-six scalps, and retained only three prisoners to furnish to 3400 men, and consisted of a part of the first royals, tlie 17th and 27th regiments, the Massachusetts regiments under Colonels Whitcomb and Willard, Colonel Goff's New Hampshire regiment, that of Rhode Island under Harris, five com- panies of rangers under Rogers, and a detachment of artillery under Colonel Ord. He set out from Albany in the month of June, and sailed from Crown Point on the 11th of August, and after successively reducing Isle Aux Noix, St. Johns, Fort Therese, and Chambly, crossed over to Longueil, and entered Montreal with Am- herst, in September. On the 9th December, following, he was appointed colonel commandant of the 4th Battalion of the 60th Royal Americans. In February, 1763, he was senior brigadier general at the reduction of the island of Martinico ; he was appointed major general, 10th July, and commanded the 4th brigade at the siege of Havana, in August following. In 1767, he became colonel of the 45th ; lieutenant general the 25th of May, 1772 ; general in the army 19th February, 1783, and died in September, 1788. — Army Lists ; Knox's Journal &nA Beaton's Mil. and Naval Memoirs ; Wilsons Orderly Book, pp. 1 and 2, note. ' " The course which our troops took during the last war, was generally to land on Sabbath day point, whence a road leads to Ticouderoga." — Oov. Poicnall's Topo- grajMcal Descrij)tion. ^Documents relating to the Colonial Hist, of N. Y., vol. x, p. 693. CAPT. JOHN STARK. 319 live letters to their father. The same account adds in a vein of grim humor, " our Indians would not give any quarter." The French loss was reported at twenty-seven killed and woUuded . Rogers's force, dispersed and scattered through the woods, sought safety in flight or temporary concealment, the snow being very deep rendered pursuit both difficult and dangerous. As snow shoes constituted a part of the rangers' outfit, they became an important agency in the escape of those who survived the con- flict. It was the memorable events connected with this affiiir that has made Rogers's rock an object ot interest to tourists and a landmark of history. The fugitives were met near the ITarrows on their retreat by Capt. John Stark {a) with a timely reinforcement, and a supply of blankets, sleighs and provisions. They reached Fort Edward on the night of the fifteenth. Pursuant to orders awaiting him, Rogers repaired to New York, to confer with General Abercrombie, by whom he was received with distinguished consideration, and who, at this time conferred upon him the rank and commission of major. He was instructed to report to Lord Howe, who was then at Albany engaged in organizing the army and making other preparations for the campaign. After concerting and maturing their plans, Rogers hurried north and resumed command of his justly cele- brated corps. Colonel Grant was now in command at Fort Edward. The rangers were immediately divided into several detachments, and ' The same extraordinary discrepancies attend the reports of this affair that char- acterize the returns connected with all the forest frays and general engagements of this war. The English account makes the French loss over fifty at the first fire, while the number of Canadians and Indians engaged is stated at seven hun- dred. The official returns of the English loss, including killed, wounded and missing was ninety-five. («) John Stark was born at Londonderry, N. H., 28th August, 1728, and in 1752 was a captive among the Indians of St. Francis. He served as captain of rangers in the French war, and at the opening of the Revolution received a commis- Bion as colonel, and fought at Bunker hill in June, 1775 ; went in 1776 to Canada, and at Trenton commanded the van of the right wing of the American army. He was also in the battle of Princeton, but being omitted in the promotions, threw up his commission March, 1777. He raised a body of troops in New Hampshire, and in August following, defeated Col. Baum at Wallumschack. After this he was reinstated in the Continental army as brigadier general. He served in Rhode Island in 1778-9, and in 1780 in New Jersey ; in 1781, had the command of the northern department, and was one of the members of the court martial on Major Andre. He died, full of years and honors. May 8th, 1822, aged 93 years, and was buried on a small hill on the banks of the Merrimack river. — Wilnoii's Orderly Book {MunseU's Historical /Series), p. 23, Jiote. 320 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. despatched by various routes to the north in quest of informa- tion. Captain Stark was sent down the west side of the lake to reconnoitre the enemy's position at Ticonderoga. The cele- brated chief Nawnawapatconks, or Captain Jacobs, with a large party of Mohegan Indians, proceeded down the east side of the lake on a similar errand. Captain Burbank with another party was despatched to harass the enemy and if possi- ble to take some prisoners; while Major Rogers, with a party of eighteen, proceeded to Crown Point, where one Frenchman was killed, and three others made prisoners. With the latter, he reached camp on the ninth of May. From that time to the tenth of June, Rogers's journal gives evidence of almost con- stant, and frequently perilous scouting service. At this time all the detachments were ordered in, and placed under the direction of Lord Howe, who had reached Fort Edward on the eighth with one half the army. On the twelfth, Rogers'with fifty men, started on another scout in the direction of the French posts. The next day the party was ambushed by a superior force of the enemy, in which three of the French, and eight of the Provincials were killed. On their return, they encountered, on the twentieth. Lord Howe, who was encamped at the Half-way brook with two thousand men.^ Having re- ported the result of his encounter, he obtained permission to wait on Gen. Abercrombie at Fort Edward, from whom he received instructions to rejoin his lordship with the entire corps of rangers, numbering about six hundred. On the twenty-second, this advanced force encamped on the ruins of Fort William Henry, the rangers taking position on the west side, near the base of Rattle Snake mountain. Several scouting parties were daily detached to keep a sharp lookout ' It is conjectured that this force was encamped on what is known to the pre- sent day as the garrison ground situated on the south bank of the Half-way brook about midway between the Champlain tannery, and the brickyard. The old military road at this point ran eastwardly of the plank road, crossing it at an acute angle, and crossing the brook about four rods above the present bridge. A part of the old abutments and causeway are still to be seen. The block house Btood west of the brick dwelling house lately owned and occupied by Ezra Bene- dict. A branch road leading to the garrison ground crossed the brook a short distance below the plank road bridge. It is highly probable that at this time log buildings were erected at the lower camping ground, which were subse- quently occupied by the forces under Amherst, and later on by large bodies during the Revolutionary war. The road across the flat further north, was quite tor- tuous in its course, crossing the track of the plank road some five or six times, and then turning off to the right in the direction of the Blind rock. ADVANCES AND RETREATS. 321 on the enemy's movements. One of them, consisting of seven- teen men and two lieutenants, was captured while proceeding down the lake in whale boats, by a force of two hundred Cana- dians, who intercepted and cut off their retreat. The details of that imposing gathering, its splendid and brilliant array, the triumphal advance down Lake George, the disastrous skirmish of the morning, in which Lord Howe, the idol and hope of the English array ^ was killed, the assault and defeat at the intrench- ments of Carillon, the precipitate and inglorious retreat of Abercromhie to the head of Lake George, do not come withia the scope of this work. Immediately following tljese events, Montcalm placed in the field several flying detachments of Canadians and Indians, whose special duty it became to harass the small outposts between Lake George and Fort Edward ; cut off the supplies, baggage and munitions of the English army, and waylay several parties in their transit between the princi- pal posts. Abercrombie's defeat took place on the eighth of July, 1758.^ On Friday the twentieth of July, succeeding this event, a de- tachment of four hundred men, consisting of Canadians and Indians, under the command of M. St. de Luc la Corne, a colonial officer, attacked an English force of one hundred and fifty men, ' Above the pedantry of holdino^ up standards of military ritles, where it was im- possible to practice them, and the narrow spirit of preferrinty the modes of his own country, to those proved by experience to suit that in which he was to act, Lord Howe laid aside all pride and prejudice, and gratefully accepted counsel from those whom he knew to be best qualified to direct him. Madame was delighted with the calm steadiness with which he carried through the austere rules which he found necessary to lay down. In the first place he forbade all displays of gold and scarlet, in the rugged march they were about to vindertake, and set the ex- ample by wearing himself an ammunition coat, that is to say, one of the surplus soldier's coats cut short. This was a necessary precaution ; because in the woods the hostile Indians, who started from behind the trees, usually caught at the long and heavy skirts then worn by the soldiers ; and for the same reason he ordered the muskets to be shortened, that they might not, as on former occasions, be snatched from behind by these agile foes. To prevent the march of his regiment from being descried at a distance by the glittering of their arms, the barrels of the guns were all blackened ; and to save them from the tearing of bushes, the stings of insects, etc., he set them the example of wearing leggins, a kind of buskin made of strong woolen cloth." — Memoirs of an American Lady, p. 176. ' Col. Gumming, who had been left in charge of a detachment at the head of Lake George at the time of Abercrombie's advance, received a letter from James Cun- ningham aid-de-camp, dated French advanced guard, July 8, 1758, in which was the following order : "finish all your stockaded forts immediately, and particu- larly the hospital." — Lossing's Life and Times of Philip ScMyler, vol. i, p. 154. 41 322 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. consisting of teamsters and an escort of soldiers, while on their way from the station at the Half-way brook, to the camp at the head of the lake. The account here given is as nearly as can be remembered in the language of a Mr. Jones of Connecticut, who was a member of Putnam's company which arrived on the ground soon after the aftray took place. In the year 1822 he related the circumstances as here recorded, to the late Herman Peck, Esq., of this place, while on a visit to Connecticut. It is from Mr. Peck that I obtained the narrative, which corres- ponds so completely with the French version of the affair that there can be no question whatever as to its general accuracy and reliability. A baggage train of sixty carts, each cart drawn by two to three yoke of oxen, accompanied by an unusually large escort of troops, was despatched from Fort Edward to the head of Lake George with supplies for the troops of General Abercrom- bie, who lay encamped at that point with a force of twelve thousand men. This party halted for the night at the stockade post at the Halfway brook. As they resumed their march in the morning, and before the escort had fairly cleared the pick- eted enclosure, they \t'ere suddenly attacked by a large party of French and Indians which laid concealed in the thick bushes and reeds that bordered the stream, and lined the road on both sides, along the low lands between the block house and the Blind rock. The night previously to this ambuscade and slaughter, Put- nam's company of rangers having been to the lake to procure supplies, encamped at the flats near the southern spur of the French mountain. In the early morning they were aroused from their slumbers by the sound of heavy tiring in a southerly direction, and rolling up their blankets they sprang to their arms and hastened rapidly forward to the scene of action, a dis- tance of about four miles. They arrived only in time to find the slaugiitered carcasses of some two hundred and fifty oxen, the mangled remains of the soldiers, women and teamsters, and the broken fragments of the two wheeled carts, which constitu- ted in that primitive age the sole mode of inland transportation. The provisions and stores had been plundered and destroyed. Am>ong the supplies were a large number of boxes of chocolate which had been broken open and their contents strewed upon the ground, which dissolving hi the fervid heat of the summer 324 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. sun, miugled with the pools and rivulets of blood forming a sickening and revolting spectacle. The convoy had been am- bushed and attacked immediately after leaving the protection of the stockade post, and the massacre took place upon the flats, between the Half-way brook, and the Blind rock, or what is more commonly known at the present day as the Miller place. Putnam with his command, took the trail of the marauders, which soon became strewed with fragments of plunder dropped by the rapidly retreating savages. They were followed to Ganaouski bay, on the west side of Lake George, where Putnam arrived only in time to find them embarked in their canoes, at a safe distance from musket shot, on the waters of the lake; and their discovery was responded to by insulting and obscene gestures, and yells of derision and defiance. The provincials returned immediately to the scene of the butchery, where they found a company from Fort Edward engaged in preparing a trench for the interment of the dead. Over one hundred of the soldiers composing the escort were slain, many of whom were recognized as ofilcers, from their uniform, consisting in part of red velvet breeches. The corpses of twelve females were mingled with the dead bodies of the soldiery. All the teamsters were supposed to have been killed. While the work of burial was going forward the rangers occu- pied themselves in searching the trails leading through the dense underbrush and tangled briars which covered the swampy plains. Several dead bodies were by these means added to the already lar^e number of the slain. On the side of one of these trails, the narrator of these events saw a new unhemmed ban- danna handcherchief fluttering from the twigs of an old tree that laid among the weeds near the brook. This he found perforated with a charge of buck shot, part of which remained enveloped in its folds. Following up the trail, he soon found the corpse of a woman which had been exposed to the most barbarous indignities and mutilations, and fastened in an upright position to a sapling which had been bent over for the purpose. All of the bodies had been scalped, and most of them mangled in a horrible manner. One of the oxen had no other injury, than to have one of its horns cut out ; it was still alive and bellowing with agony. This they were obliged to kill. AN AMBUSH. 325 Another ox had been regularly scalped. This animal was afterwards driven to the lake, where it immediately became an object of sympathy and attention of the whole army. By care- ful attendance and nursing, the wound healed in the course of the season. In the fall the animal was driven down to the farm of Col. Schuyler, near Albany, and the following year was shipped to England for exhibition as a curiosity. Far and wide it was kuown as the scalped ox. The bodies of the dead were buried in a trench near the scene of massacre, a few rods east of the picketed enclosure. The French version of the affair,^ states the oxen were killed, the carts burnt, the property pillaged by the Indians, one hundred and ten scalps were se- cured, and eighty-four prisoners taken ; of these twelve are women and girls. The escort which was defeated consisted of forty men commanded by a lieutenant who has been taken. The remainder of the men who were killed or taken prisoners consisted of wagoners, sutlers, traders, women and children. The English 'tis known feel this loss very sensibly. Some bag- gage and eftects belonging to General Abercrombie, as well as his music, were among the plunder. On the news of this defeat, the English general sent a very considerable force in pursuit, under the command of the partisan Robert Rogers, but he was too late. He was on the point of returning, when, on the ad- vice of a colonial gunner, a deserter, he received orders to lay in ambush to surprise a third detachment which the Marquis de Montcalm had just despatched ^ under the orders of M. Marin, a colonial officer of great reputation. This detachment was composed of fifty regulars, one hundred Canadians, and one hundred and fifty Indians. That of the enemy, of about seven hundred men. They met in the woods, about seven o'clock in the morning of the eighth of August, and in spite of superior numbers, M. Marin, made his arrangements to fight the enemy. He forced them to waver by two volleys, which killed a great many ; but having been supported by the regulars, they rallied, and the firing was brisk on both sides for nearly an hour. M. Marin, perceiving that they were receiving a reinforcement, and ' M. Doreil to Marsliall de Belle Isle. Documents relating to the Colonial Hist. ofN. F., vol. X, p. 818. ' Since tbe great day of the 8tb, Montcalm has always had some detachments in the fields to watch and harass the enemy. These detachments had likewise for object to place themselves between tbe enemy's intrenched camp on the ruins of Fort William Henry and Fort Edward to attack and destroy their convoys. — Ibid. 326 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. the Indians, who feared that they would not be able to curry off" some wounded, demanding to retire, he was obliged to think of retreating, which he did in good order, and without being pursued, after having, for an hour longer, kept up a tire with such picked men as Ire had, who performed prodigies of valor. The Indians, in general, have also behaved well; but of one hundred Canadians, more than sixty deserted M. Marin, no one knows wherefore, at the very moment when the English were wavering." The English loss is reported in this account at up- wards of two hundred killed and two officers taken prisoners. The French loss is stated at ten killed and eleven wounded. The sceire of this engagement was near Fort Ann. It was here that Major Putnam was made prisoner.* Rogers's journal esti- mates the French loss at one hundred and ninety-nine. About this period a stockade fort with earthworks, trenches, and a palisaded enclosure was thrown up on what was then called Picket brook, a small rivulet which crosses the plank road about one-eighth of a mile south of the upper toll gate by Brown's half way house, and empties itself into a stream known in the earlier annals of the town as Hampshire creek or Rocky brook, but now called Trout brook. This fortification was erected on the south side of the rivulet, to which led a covered way even now to be distinctly traced. It was called Fort Williams,^ and was designed as a depot for provisions and munitions of war, and also as a halting place for the numerous parties of teamsters and soldiers, scouts and patrols continually passing to and fro on the old military highway between Lake George and Fort Edward. On the sixteenth of July, a detachment of Canadians and Indians, under the command of M. de Courtemanche, a colonial captain, was despatched from the fortress of Carillon, witli a view to harass the English camp, cut oft" its convoys and supplies of provisions and to take scalps and prisoners. They fell, unexpectedly as usual, upon Col. Nichol's regiment then ' The extraordinary outrages and barbarities to which this galhmt and spirited officer was exposed on this occasion, are detailed at length in his biographies. He was carried to Montreal and detained a i>risoner until after the cajjture of Fort Frontenac, when, through the instrumentality of Col. Schuyler, he was exchanged. In Putnam's narrative, the leader of the expedition is mentioned as the famous partisan Molang. ' Vide Pouchofs Memoirs, vol. ir, p. 52, for map of the frontiers of the French and English colonies, originally published in this work, in which Fort Williams is laid down a little to the south of Lake George. SCALPS AND PRISONERS. 327 quartered at the post by the Half-way brook, and killed three captains and twenty men.' The French account states that they attacked a party of three hundred English, which had taken refuge in a stockaded enclosure lately erected as a depot. They succeeded in taking twent3'-fbur scalps and making ten pri- soners. The impatience of the Indians in making tha attack, prevented the massacre from being more complete. Rogers, who was at this time on a scout to South bay, discovered thia attacking party on its way up the east side, and estimated the number at one thousand men.^ Another of these picket forts, capable of accommodatingabout three hundred men, was built somewhere near the siteof Rich- ards's steam saw-mill, on the berme side of the Glen's Falls feeder, and east of the bridge on the road leading to Sandy Hill. Like the other picket forts, this was protected by a ditch and palisades, and was used as a halting place by wagoners and small parties of soldiers. Connected with this post was a burial ground, which has been in use so lately as since the re- volutionary war. The old military road, instead of following the present route across the flat, led eastwardly along the margin of the elevated ground, nearly parallel with the canal. During this season, already memorable by reason of so many bloody affrays, an attack* was made by a large party of Cana- dians and Indians, commanded by the infamous and worse than savage partisan, St. Luc, on a convoy of soldiers in charge of a valuable baggage train, which was on its way from Fort Edward to the intrenched camp at the head of Lake George, where Ab- ' " A few (lays before, a detachment of five hundred men under the orders of M. de Courte-Mauche, had taken forty scalps, and brought to camp five prisoners."— Pouchot's Memoirs, vol. i, p. 123, Ilougli's 7'ranslntion. ^ " From these, and other slaughters, this (i. e., the Half-way) brook is sometimes called the Bloody brook." — Mogers's Journal. " For the narrative as here recorded I am chiefly indebted to the late Samuel Ranger, Es(i., of this place, who was a grandson of the John Torrey mentioned in the text. " July 27. Another party of the enemy attacked a convoy of wagons between Fort Edward and Half-way brook, and killed one hundred and sixteen men, sis- teen of whom were rangers. Major Rogers attempted to intercept this party with seven hundred men, but they escaped." — Rogers's Journal. M. Daine to the Marshal de Belle Isle. " 17th August, 1758. A courier has just arrived this moment, my lord, from Carillon with intelligence that a detachment of 400 men consisting of Canadians, colonials, and Indians, commanded by M. de la Corne St. Luc, attacked on the Lydius road, the 30th of July last, at one o'clock in the afternoon, a convoy of about 150 men who were conducting 54 wagons loaded with provisions, which 328 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. ercrombie remained with a force often thousand men as late as the month of October. Tradition states that the head of the train had reached the elevated ground near the present rail road crossing, while the rear had not yet crossed the Cold brook. Besides provisions, quartermaster's stores, and the usual muni- ments of war, it is stated traditionally, that this convoy had in charge, a large camp chest filled with silver dollars, which was being transported to the head of the lake, for the purpose of paying oft" the soldiers. The train was attacked with great im- petuosity near its centre, and such was the momentum and ra- pidity of the onset, that of the entire party only one made his escape, a teamster near the rear of the column, who at the first assault, crept oft* his load and concealed himself bj' clinging to the string-pieces of the bridge crossing the Cold brook. The remainder were either massacred ^ or taken prisoners. The cattle were slaughtered and mutilated. One of the soldiers forming the escort, which was composed chiefly of Massachu- setts troops, seeing an Indian cutting out the tongue of a live ox, drew up and shot him, but was speedily killed in turn for his temerity. Among the prisoners was a lad by the name of John Torrey, who had been employed as a wagoner. He was carried to Canada, where he remained something like eighteen months before his exchange was eftected. Corroborative of this narration, is the fact that in the early part of the century, and within the memory of a few now living, the entire hill-side between the Cold brook, and the canal crossing, has been dug over, and searched for the chest of specie, which, as the marau- ders had no means of transportation, it is stated and believed, was buried for safe keeping until a more favorable opportunity should present for its recovery. The expulsion of the French, and the conquest of the lake strongholds by Amherst, the fol- lowing year, prevented the accomplishment of this design, and the old military treasure chest probably still remains concealed they captiired and destroyed, not beinof able to save tliem ; they kilHed 230 oxen and took 80 scalps and 64 prisoners, men, women, and children. We lost only one Iroquois ; two others have been slightly wounded." — Colonial Hist, of N. Y., vol. ' X, p. 817. In Gen. Montcalm's report the date of this affair is stated as Friday, the 20th of July. St. Luc's official report varies but slifrhtly from the above. Ibid., p. 850. ' lu repairing the highway between Glen's Falls and Sandy Hill in 1871, parts of two human skeletons were exhumed a few rods east of the rail road crossing. J END OF THE CA^IPAIGK 329 in its secret resting .place near the borders of the old military highway. These forays so oft repeated, with such disastrous effect upon the English arms, seems to have resulted in the permanent es- tablishment of a large force at the Half-w\ay brook,^ for on the twenty-ninth of August we find that eight hundred men are stationed there, and although the enemy still keep flying de- tachments in the field,^ no further record of wholesale massacres and butcheries appear in their reports. Toward the very last days of October, General Abercrombie broke camp and aban- doned his position at the head of the lake. The barracks, store houses and other buildings which had been erected for the con- venience of his still large army were burned, the intrenchments leveled and destroyed, the artillery, shells, and shot buried, and a sloop of war of twelve guns sunk in the lake.^ Thus ignominiously ended a campaign, begun with no com- mon energy, supported with unstinted supplies of men and material, prosecuted with great parade and vainglorious antici- pations, but failed for the want of good sense and adaptation to surroundings, which in the past as well as the present genera- tions, have led thousands of brave hearts to their doom through the high stepping, hard bitted adherence to military precedents, and schools of tactics, which great genius only could mould to success, and which to mediocrity are but leaden weights, drag- ing downward to failure and disgrace. ' Auw. Ist, 1858. A deserter reports 700 men at the Half-way depot. On the 29th 800 reported at the entrepot. — Journal of events. — Col. Hist, of N. Y., vol. x, pp. 820-855. " In a letter of M. Daine to Marshal de Belle Isle, dated Quebec, July 31, he says : ' Tve have at present several detachments of Canadians anu Indians, roving in the neighborhood of Lydius and Fort George." — Col. Hist, of N. Y., vol. x, p. 816. " Letter of Montcalm to M. de Massiac. Ibid., p. 888. 42 350 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. CHAPTER V. France refuses Aid to her Colonists — Preparations for the en- suing Campaign — jMajor Rogers despatched on a Reconnois- sance to Fort St. Frederic — Posts erected at Half-way Brook, and the Head op Lake Champlain — Advance of Gen. Amherst's Army to Fort Edward and Lake George — Corvette Halifax raised — Investment and Capture tp Carillon and St. Frede- ric — Gratifying Termination of the Campaign. ^^"j^^HE approach of winter found the military operations along the northern frontier praeticallj terminated ; the bulk of the army having been withdrawn into winter quarters ; suthcient garrisons having been left in charge of the few posts at the north ; as well as those at the west. The events of the preceding campaign had been in the main creditable to the English arras, and the success of the expedi- tions at the north, south and west received an additional lustre and eclat, in consequence of the overwhelming repulse of Aber- crombie at the fatal intrenchments of Carillon. The well guarded and massive fortress of Louisbourg had yielded to the indomitable valor and unwearied labor of Wolfe, Amherst and Boscawen ; the forest-battlements of Fort DuQuesne had been leveled by the conquering Forbes; and the palisades and ramparts of Fort Frontenac had quietly yielded to the bold genius of the gallant Bradstreet. England, while mourning the loss of her brave sons who fell before the trenches at Ticonderoga, was still exultant in her triple victory, and looked forward with undoubt- ing confidence to the tinal triumph of the British power over the Canadian provinces. The latter were now girt with four power- ful armies, and the crimson banner of England swung its broad folds from two of the most important posts which the French had possessed in the new world. The shattered regiments of Abcrcrombie still lined the banks of the Hudson ; Louisbourg and BuQuesne were garrisoned with stout English and provin- cial soldiery; Fort Frontenac was in ruins; Fort Stauwix was in possession of the great western trail; and the resources of the French were almost exhausted. In this perilous strait an agent I PREPARATIONS FOR ANOTHER CAMPAIGN. 331 was despatched by the Canadian governnient of France for as- sistance. The irritated sovereign obliged to maintain a war at home refused any aid, and without abating one tittle of his claims to the Canadian possessions, left the impoverished habitans to defend, for another campaign, the land of their nativity from the aggressions of the foes of France. De Vaudreuil, the governor of Canada involved in a tissue of embarrassments and difficulties resulting from his own indolence and incapacity, had but little leisure to attend to the dangers which threatened the harassed province, and the control of its military operations again de- volved almost solely upon Montcalm, who, ever active and vigilant, continued to give employment to his scouting parties in the vicinity of the frontiers. The preparations for the approaching campaign progressed both in the mother country and colonies with all the vigor and activity which characterized the movements of the new ministry. Pitt, who had been chagrined at the result of the expedition against Ticonderoga, resolved for the future not to entrust the execution of his favorite schemes to any but officers of his own selection, who, by their tried valor, and competency to command should have proved worthy of his confidence. With this view, the chief command of the land forces in IS^orth America was committed for the coming campaign to General Jeffrey Amherst, (a) who by his judgment, and skill in the con- quest of Louisbourg, had exhibited talents worthy of this most (a) Jeffrey Amherst was descended from an ancient Kentish family, and born at Riverliead in England, 29th January, 1717. He early devoted himself to the profession of arms, receiving an ensign's commission when only fourteen years of age. At the age of twenty five he acted as aid-de-camp to Lord Ligonier, in the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy, and afterwards served in the staff of the Duke of Cumberland in those of Laffeld and Hastenbeck. From that date his promotion was very rapid. In 1756, we find him in command of a regiment of foot ; and in 1758 he received orders to return to England, being appointed to the American service, with the rank of major general. He sailed from Portsmouth on the 16th of March, having the command of the troops destined for the seige of Louisbourg ; on the 26th of July following he captured that place, and without further cj,ifficulty toLk entire possession of Cape Breton. After this event, he succeeded Abercrombie in the command of the army in North America. The capture of Fort Du Quesne, Niagara, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point in due time followed. General Amherst, nuw seeing that the whole continent of North America was reduced in subjection to Great Britain, returned to New York, and was received with all the respect due to his public services. The thanks of the house of commons had already been transmitted to him ; and among other honorable testimonies of approbation, in 1761 he was created a Knight of the Bath. Although he had been appointed com- • mander-in-chief of all the forces in America, and governor general of the British 332 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. important trust. The plan marked out by the comprehensive mind of tlie minister, for the military operations of the ensuing season was intended to embrace a combined eltbrt by sea and land for the reduction of the remaining garrisoned posts along the Canadian border. The difficulty, however, of fully executing this scheme, through the want of timely cooperation of the several forces employed prevented its accomplishment, although the campaign was brilliant, and its achievements reflected glory upon the English arms. An army of eight thousand men destined for the attack of Quebec was levied, which was en- trusted to the gallant and impetuous Wolfe. Generals Prideaux and Johnson were placed in command of the army at the west, with instructions to proceed to the conquest of the posts on the lakes, while General Amherst with an army of twelve thousand, was ordered to advance to the north for the attack of Forts Carillon and St. Frederic. After the several expeditions had accomplished the labors assigned them, they were directed to unite by their several routes for the reduction of Montreal. While making drafts for new levies to serve during the re- mainder of the war, the governors of the English provinces were instructed to fill the offices of the new regiments with men who, by their experience, bravery, and popularity should secure the entire confidence and affection of the soldiery. New ap- propriations on the part of the colonies were also demanded, provinces, he resigned liis command shortly after the conclusion of peace between Great Britain and France, and returned to London in December, 17G3, where new honors and favors awaited him. In 1770 he became governor of Guernsey and its de- pendencies, and two years afterwards was sworn of the privy council. In 1776 he was advanced to the dignity of the peerage, when he took the title of Baron Amherst of Honesdale in the county of Kent ; and in 1787 received another patent as Baron Amherst of Montreal. From 1772 to 1783 he officiated as commander-in-chief of the English forces, during the latter part of which period he acted as eldest general on the staff of England. In 1783 he received the golden stick from the king, but on tlie change of administration, usually called that of Lord North, the command of the army, and the Lieutenant Generalship of Ordnance, was put into other hands. In 1783 he was again appointed to the command of the army ; but in 1785 he was superseded by tlie Duke of York, then in his 31st year, who had never seen any service. The government upon this occasion, with a view to soothe the feelings of the old general, offered him an earldom, and the rank of field marshal, both of which he rejected ; but in the following year accepted the latter. He died 3d August, 1797 in the 81st year of his age. Lord Amherst was a man of collected and temperate mind, vvitliout brilliancy or parade ; a strict officer, yet the soldier's friend. He was twice married, but left no issue, and was succeeded in his title and estates by his nephew, the son of the brother whom he had employed in the reduction of Ne\rfouadland." — Wilson's Orderly Book {MunseU's Hist. Series), pp. V, VI, VII. RECONNOISSANCE OF ST. FREDERICK. 333 partly as a loan to the home government, to defray the expenses of this gigantic enterprise. Two thousand six hundred and eighty men were drawn from the province of New York alone, as its quota to the new levies; and hills of credit to the amount of one hundred thousand pounds were issued, being made redeema- ble in 1768; beside taxes totheamountofsix hundred and twenty- five thousand dollars, including one hundred and fifty thousand loaned to the parent state. An oath of secrecy was exacted from the members of the colonial assemblies when the plan of this campaign was communicated to them. As soon as the commission arrived, appointing him to the chief command of the American armj^, Amherst sailed fpm Halifax, and touching at Boston, landed at 'New York near the close of the year (De- cember 12th), and immediately applied himself to the duties of his responsible station. The following month, Abercrombie embarked on board a man-of-war lying at that port, and accom- panied by Wolfe, returned to England. The forces at Louis- bourg and vicinity were left meanwhile in the charge of Colonel Monckton. In addition to two new corps of rangers, which it was pro- posed to raise at this time, negotiations were entered into with three chiefs of the Mohegan tribe for three companies of Indiana to be used in the scouting service. About the last of February a company of fifty Mohawks under the command of Captain Lotridge, was sent to Rogers, through the instrumentality of Sir Wm. Johnson. These cooperated with the rangers in a scout to Ticouderoga, which will hereafter be related. The eastern colonies, which the preceding year had been so lavish of their means for the promotion of the war, were dis- appointed in the results of the campaign and exhibited an un- usual reluctance to increase the amount of the appropriations or levies. Under the earnest representations of Amherst, whose successes had rendered him deservedlj^ popular throughout jSTew England, Massachusetts was finally induced to contribute both men and money to the coming campaign, ISTew Hampshire, in- creased the number of her levies to one thousand, which was mainly designed to replenish Rogers's command. An addi- tional regiment of volunteers, called the Jersey Blues, was raised in the state of New Jersey, through the agency of Edward Hart ; and the sparsely settled region of the Mohawk valley 334 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBUEY. turned out a battalion of eight hundred rangers who served under General Johnson on the western frontier. The northern states at the opening of spring were again alive with the stir of military preparations, and ever}' cit}-, village and hamlet in the neighborhood of the Hudson echoed once more the words of command and the din of arms. While these movements were in progress, Major Rogers was despatched by Colonel Haldimand, then in command at Fort Edward,^ to reconnoitre and report upon the strength and con- dition of the garrison and fortification at St. Frederic and Carillon. His force consisted of three hundred and fifty-eight men, including the party of Mohawks already named. On the evening of the 3d of March, he encamped at the deserted post near the Half-way brook. Here one of the Indians becoming disabled, was sent back. The ensuing day his party was marched to the vicinity of King Hendrick's spring and halted until even- ing to avoid exposure to any of the enemy's parties of observa- tion.^ The march was then resumed and the party reached the Narrows on Lake George, about two o'clock in the morning and bivouacked for the night. The cold was so in- tense that at this point several of the men were found to be frost-bitten, and it became necessary to send them back to Fort Edward, in charge of a sergeant. At eleven o'clock on the night of the 5th, they reached Sabbath day point,^ the cold causing them great suffering. Starting again at two o'clock, the}' reached the lauding place at the foot of the \ake at eight o'clock in the morning. Scouts were now despatched in various directions, and it was ascertained that two working parties of the French were out on the east side of the lake. The remainder of the day was devoted to areconnoissance of the French works. Rogers with forty-nine rangers and the party of Mohawks under Captain Lotridge accompanied the engineer to the bold pro- montory overlooking the scene rendered memorable by the '" N. B. The exterior circuite of Fort Edward is nearly 1569 feet. And as I am informed took nearly two seasons to build it." — Doc. Hut. N. T., vol. iv, p. 524. " On a manuscrijjt map of prreat afje in the State Library there is marked near this place a locality by the name of Indian rock. ' When and upon what occasion this ceiebra'»;d landinj? place received the name of Sabbath day jjoint is involved in obscurity. The guide books with customary inaccuracy vary in their accounts, and none of them are correct. One assigns the occasion of Abercrombie's landing ou a sabbath morning in 1758, and another that of Amherst in 1755. The official correspondence and returns go to show that the name was in common use in 1757-8. — Vide Colonial Records, and Rogers's Journal. I DISPATCHES. 335 -bloody repulse of the preceding year, while Captain Williams was left behind with thirty rangers and regulars as a corps of reserve. After the return of the party of observation, five In- dians with one of the rangers was detailed to watch the return of the fatigue parties and take note of their numbers. At night the engineer visited the French intrench ments accompanied by an escort of ten men under the command of Lieutenant Tute. The necessary observations being completed the engineer with his party returned at midnight, and in consequence of the severe cold, they, with the remainder of the regulars and rangers, were sent back to Sabbath-day point, where fires were built and a temporary camp established. At three o'clock on the following morning the remainder of the force consisting of the Mohawks, forty of the rangers and one regular under the command of Rogers, started to intercept the laborers engaged in cutting wood, who were discovered the previous day. By a rapid march, they succeeded in crossing South bay, and reaching a poiiit nearly opposite the fort before sunrise. They dashed in upon the choppers and succeeded in killing or capturing nearly all of them. The garrison being alarmed, a force of one hundred and fifty regulars and eighty Canadians and Indians, started in pursuit but the retreat was so well organized that they were repulsed at every assault, and finally being pursued by the Mohawks, were routed with considerable loss. The enduing night they rejoined their comrades at Sabbath-day point, and participated in the comforts of the blazing camp fires. The next day's march brought them to Long Island in Lake George, where Ihey en- camped for the night. Before leaving. Lieutenant Tute was detached express with the following letter : " Camp at Sabbath-Day Point, "I 8 o'clock, A. M. / " Sir : I would inform you that sixty Indians in two parties, have gone toward Fort Edward and Saratoga, and I fear they will strike a blow be- fore this reaches you. Mr. Brehme, the engineer, has completed his busi- ness agreeably to his orders ; since which I have taken and destroyed several of the enemy near Ticonderoga, as the bearer will inform. The Mohawks behaved well, and ventured within pistol shut of the fort. The weather is extremely severe, and we are compelled to carry some of our men whose feet are frozen. " R. Rogers. "N. B. — Two-thirds of my detachment have frozen their feet." • 336 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. To this communication the following reply was returned : " Fort Edward, March 20, 17^9. " Dear Sir : I congratulate you on your success, and send twenty-two sleighs to transport your sick. You will also bring as many boards [these had been left the previous season at the south end of Lake George, and were now required for use at Fort Edward,] as you can conveniently. My compliments to Captain Williams and the gentlemen. " Your most obed't serv't, " Fred Haldiman. " P. S — The signal guns have been fired to give notice to the different forts to be on their guard. Nothing has yet appeared." The guns had the effect to intimidate a party of savages in the vicinity of Fort Miller eight miles south of Fort Edward, and thinking that they were discovered returned back from their fruitless errand. At the south end of Lake George the return- ing party were met by an escort of one hundred men accom- panied by the sleighs, which were a great relief to the foot-sore and worn-out rangers. The entire party reached the fort without further molestation. The month following this adventure Gen. Amherst left New York on his way toward the northern frontier, and on the 3d of May arrived at Albany, where the troops and new levies had already begun to assemble. These were immediately placed under active discipline, preparatory to their march to the north. In the meanwhile, the artillery, munitions, and provisions for the approaching campaign were being gathered rapidly in at this point, under Amherst's vigilant supervision. The month of May was devoted to drilling the troops as fast as they gathered at Albany, while the regular forces in camp were forwarded to Fort Edward by detachments as soon as they could be supplied with the necessary stores. In the meantime. Major West was despatched by the orders of Amherst with a company of troops and laborers for the purpose of constructing an intermediate post between Lake George and Fort Edward. In compliance with this order, a site Avas selected in the neighborhood of the recent massacre on the south bank of the Half-way brook, and a few rods to the east of the old military road. Here, a stock- ade fortress was thrown up, which was surrounded on three of its sides by a ditch and counterscarp, while the rear was pro- BLOODY EUN. 337 tected by a heavy, impassable morass.^ This post was supplied with artillery and placed in chars^e of a small garrison under the command of Major West. To this fortification was given the nanie of Fort Amherst in honor of the commander-in-chief.'^ About the same time a picketed fort was erected at the head of Lake Charaplain for the purpose of checking the irruptions of the French and Indians.^ As the army was thus slowly gathering at Fort Edward, Fort Miller was in possession of a small detachment of regular troops. A party of these ventured out one day on a fishing excursiou to a small stream in the vicinity. While following their amuse- ment, they fell into an ambush of Indians who were lurking in the neighborhood, and seven of their number fell victims to savage fury. The remainder escaped to the fort, and a pursuit was immediately instituted, but the marauders were not to be found. The place of this massacre is commemorated by the name of the Bloody run.* About the last of May (1759) the provincial levies had assem- bled at Albany and the quota assigned to Rogers's corps were forwarded to the rangers' camp on the island at Fort Edward.^ Rogers, having paid his respects to the commanding general at Albany during the early part of the month, had received assu- rances of his confirmation as major in the regular army with ' June 31, 1759. The stockade at the 7 mile post was finished to day. — Knox's Hist. Journal, 376. * The remains of this fortification with its cellars and embankments are still to be seen on what is to this day called the Garrison ground on the cross road leading from the Champlain place to the brick yard. Some years since, Geo. W. Cheney, Esq., found here a pair of silver sleeve buttons marked " P," which he insists be- longed to the famous General Putnam. " " Within the memory of some of our citizens, the whole brow of the hill, east of Church street, and south of High street, was enclosed by an embankment, which formed the base of a picket fort, said to have been constructed during that war," (i. e. the French war of 1766-63). — Kellogg's Historical Discourse, p. 4. * " An eighth of a mile westward is Bloody run, a stream which comes leaping in sparkling cascades from the hills, and alFords fine trout fishing. * * * This clear mountain stream enters the Hudson a little above Fort Miller, where the river makes a sudden curve, and where, before the erection of the dam at the rapids, it was quite shallow, and usually fordable. This was the crossing place for the armies ; and there are still to be seen some of the logs and stones upon the shore, which formed a part of the old King's road leading to the fording place." — Field Book of the Revolution, vol. i, p. 94. ^ " According to the report of all these prisoners the island where Robert Rogers's company is quartered is in progress of being palisaded ; that partisan had only 220 men with him." — Beport of Gov. Vaudreuil to M. Berryer, 28th March, 1759. 43 338 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. rank from the date of his first commission. On his return to Fort Edward, May 15th, Rogers learned to his regret of the death of Capt. Burbauk, who with a party of thirty men was captured by the Indians while on a scouting expedition. One of the captors mistaking the brave captain for Rogers, exultingly displayed his bleeding scalp to some of the prisoners ; and when informed of their mistake, the savages expressed regret, as they stood indebted to the captain for kindness. Gen. Gage, who was a prominent officer in Amherst's campaign, being assigned to leading and important duties, with a strong detachment was sent forward in advance of the main army, and taking position at the head of the lake, proceeded to the erection of some tem- porary defenses on a commanding eminence, spoken of as Element hill, in one of the soldier's journals, to the west of the old Fort Wm. Henry, to which was given the name of Fort Gage,^ in honor of its builder.(a) Gage was soon afterward joined by Stark with three companies of rangers. Rogers, with the other three companies, remained at Fort Edward, engaged in frequent scouts and reconnoissances, under the immediate supervision of Amherst in person. ' The author of this work has souiiht diligently for some account or description of this fortification, whose name and site, tradition has preserved for more than a century, but none has been found. It is on the authority of the late Hon. Wm. Hay, of Saratoga Springs, that the period above named is given as the date of its construction. It was probably little more than a redoubt, and intended as a flank support to the main fortifications now known as the ruins of Fort George. (a) Thomas Gage was the second son of the 1st, and father of the 3d, Viscount Gage of Castlebar, in the county of Mayo, Ireland. In 1755 he accompanied the expedition under General Braddock, against Fort Du Quosne, as lieutenant colonel of the 44th regiment, and commanded the vanguard in the fatal engagement of the 9th July, when he was slightly wounded. After the battle he carried the general oflF the field. In May, 1758, he was appointed colonel of the 80th regiment and brig, general, and on the 8th December following, married Margaret, daughter of Peter Kemble, Esq., president of the council of New Jersey. In 1759 he accomjianied the expedition under General Amherst, and led the 2d column against Fort Ticon- deroga, which however, had been abandoned by the French before the arrival of the English troops. On learning the death of General Prideaux, General Am- herst dispatched Brigadier Gage on the 28th July to take command of that division of the army, but Fort Niagara had already been reduced by Sir William Johnson. On the 11th July, in the following year, he departed from Oswego with the army to Montreal, of which city he was appointed governor, after its cajiitulation. He was promoted in May, 1761, to the rank of major general, and in March fol- lowing became colonel of the 22d regiment of foot. At the departure of General Amherst for England in 17G3, Major General Gage succeeded him as commander- in-chief of his majesty's forces in North America. He rose to be lieutenant general in 1770, and resided in New York until May, 1774, when he removed to Boston, on being appointed governor of Massachusetts. He was a suitable instrument for EXECUTION OF DESERTERS. 339 The main body of the array was put in motion in the early part of June, and after three days' march General Amherst encamped ivith his entire force at Fort Edward. Here the troops were again placed under a rigid system of discipline, exercise, and drill to prepare them for their coming duties. The raw and inexperienced provincials who composed the greater portion of the army, unused to the irksome and rigid require- ments of stern military rules, soon manifested a disposition to return to the homes from which they had been so uncere- moniously torn. Wearied and heartsick of the monotonous camp duties assigned them, with a certain prospect of a danger- ous march and a sanguinary battlefield before them, the spirit of insubordination ^ and desertion spread to an alarming extent ; the provincials by twos, thi^ees, and even whole platoons steal- ing off" to the woods, despite the most exacting vigilance, and animated appeals to their patriotism and courage. At length Amherst found it necessary to resort to the terrible death penalty to stay the prggress of the alarming defection in his fast dwindling army. Four deserters, Dunwood, Ward, Rogers executing the purposes of a tyrannical ministry and parliament. Several regi- ments soon followed him, and he began to repair the fortifications upon Boston Neck. The powder in the arsenal at Charleston was seized ; detachments were sent out to take possession of the stores in Salem and Concord and the battle of Lexington became the signal of war. In May, 1775, the provincial congress de- clared Gage to be an inveterate enemy of the country, disqualified from serving the colony as governor and unworthy of obedience. From this time the exercise of his functions was confined to Boston. In June he issued a proclamation offering pardon to all the rebels excepting Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and pro- claimed martial law ; but the affair of Breed's hill, a few days afterwards, proved to him that he had mistaken the character of the Americans. In October he em- barked for England, and was succeeded in command by Sir William Howe. His conduct towards the inhabitants of Boston in promising them liberty to leave the town on the delivery of their arms, and then detaining many of them, has been reprobated for its treachery. In 1783 he was appointed colonel of the 17th light dragoons, and rose to the rank of general of the army in the following month of November. General Gage died in England on the 3d of April, 1787. His widow survived him until the 9th February, 183-4, when she died aged 90 years." — Wilson's Orderly Book {MunseWs Hist. Series), p. 53-3, ?iote. ' " Thomas Burk, waggoner, tryed by a court martiall of the line for abusing and offering to strick his officer at Half-way brook, is found guilty of the crime laid to his charge, and sentenced to receive four hundred lashes. The general approves of the above sentence, and orders that the said Thomas Burk is marched to-morrow morning at 5 o'clock by the provost guard, regiment to regiment and that he receives 30 lashes at each of the 4 regular regiments, beginning at Forbse's and so on to the right. That he also receives 30 lashes each at the head of 8 provincial regiments, and forty at the head of Schuyler's.'' — Wilson's Orderly Book {Mumell's Hist. Series), p. 83. 340 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. and Harris by name, were apprehended, and after a trial by court martial, were shot in the sight of the whole army, which was drawn out in battle array to witness the execution. This stringent measure had the desired effect in stopping the pro- gress of desertion.^ About this time M. de Bourlemaque, the commandant of the French forces at Carillon, despatched a flag of truce by aparty of French officers to General Amherst at Fort Edward for the ostensible purpose of arranging the preliminaries of a treaty ; but in reality to ascertain the strength of the garrison and its defenses. By the prudence of Amherst, their design was de- feated. The approaching party was directed to halt at a suit- able distance from the fort, at which place the conference was held, thus depriving them of a plausible pretext for visiting the fort. To check in some degree the barbarities committed by the enemy's scouting parties on the unoffending inhabitants of the frontier. General Amherst forwarded a copy of the follow- ing proclamation to the governor of Canada. " No scouting party or others in the army, are to scalp' women or children be- longing to the enemy. They are, if possible, to take them prisoners, but not to injure them on any account, the general being determined, should the enemy continue to murder and scalp women and children, subjects of the King of Great Britain, tb revenge it by the death of two men of the enemy, for every woman or child murdered by them." This order which was carried secretly into the French camp, had the effect of relieving the campaign of the long catalogue of horrors, which, since the commencement of the war had annually dar- kened the pages of history. ' Of the severity of the discipline followed in this campaign, the following is an illustration. TicoNDEROGA, 3d August, 1759. " George Edwards a deserter of the 17th regiment is to suffer death. The Picquits of the line to assemble immediately in the front of Montgomerys. The commanding officer of Forbes will order that regiment to erect a gallows imme- diately on the battery in front of Montgomerys, where the prisoner, George Ed- wards, is to be hanged in his French coat, with a libble on his breast. Hanged for Deserting to the French. He is to be hanging all day and at the retreat beating he is to be buried very deep under the gallows, and his French coat with him. This to be put in execution instantly, and if the provost martiall does not find a hangman, the commanding officer of the Picquitts will order that provost martiall does it himself." — Wilson's Orderly Book {MunseU's Hist. Series), p. 113. 342 mSTORT OF the tows of QrEENSBITRT. Towards the close of June/ the army, amounting to six thousand men, preceded by Rogers's rangers, advanced in two columns to the head of Lake George, where they erected their camp, very nearly on the ground occupied by Abercrombie the year before. On the following day, Amherst traced a plan for a fortification near the camp ground, which was soon afterwards constructed, and whose ruins are now crumbling in massive piles upon the shrub-grown eminence to the east of the village of Caldwell.- While the army remained posted at this position, " Fort Edward, 19tli June, 1759. " Afier Orders. ' " Three or four Ox Carts will be delivered to the Xew Jersey and first Connec- ticut Regiment this Evening, and 7 Ox Carts and a Waggon to be delivered to the Royall this Evening, that thev niav be loaded to-morrow at the Brake of Day. The above Regiments are at that Time to strick their Tents, and are to be under the command of Collo. Forster, who will receive his Orders from the Generall. The Regiments are to March by the Left, the Rovall to march along the Front of the Line, jovning the Jersey Regiment, then both joyning the Connecticut Re- giment, the whole to proceed as Collo. Forster will direct. Capt. Brewer and 60 Rangers joyning them as they march from the Camp, eight hundred working Men for mending the roads to-morrow, half will take their Arms, the other half will take Tools : the whole to be Commanded by two Field Officers, and repaire the Roads to the Four Mile Post." — Wilson's Ordirly Book, {MunselVsHist. Series), p. 35. "June 19, 1759. The Royal, with the New Jersey Regiment and Connecticut troops marched this Morning from Fort Edward to the Seven Mile Post, under the Command of Colonel Forster ; from thence the Colonel proceeded with the Royal, 55th and New Jersey Regiments, an Officer of Artillery and two field-pieces, one company of rangers, and some Indians, towards the lake, and took post about three miles on this side of it. The Colonel immediately cleared his ground threw up an intrenchment, and fortified it with the trees that were felled." — Knox's Journal, 1, 373. " Aft€r Orders, 20th June. * * * " 2 Companys of Montgomery, to march to Morrow Morning be- fore Day to relieve Capt. Delsell at the 4 Mile Post. The commanding Officer will escort the Batteaux as far as that Post, and will receive further orders at 3 o'clock this Night."— Wilson's Orderly Book {Munseirs Hist. Series), p. 37. ' In a work in the X. Y. State Library, entitled Plans and Forts in America, 1765, may be found the following Plan of part of Fort George, with the barracks, etc., erected in the year 1759, viz : A. " Fort showing what was finished." This was the south-west bastion or angle of the fort which was an irregular quadrangle in form. 1. Officer's barracks. 2. Soldier's barracks. 3. Powder magazine. 4. Guard room. 5. The kitchen. 6. 6 store bouses. 7. Saw mill in the swamp to the South West. B. Stockaded fort erected to serve during the time the other was building. In addition to which, is a garden plot of considerable size, octagonal in form, near the north-east angle. Also a stone wall of considerable size, semicircular in form on the eastern side, probably designed as a breastwork against musketry. \ move:ments of troops. 343 several days elapsed in bringing up from the various posts be- low, the artillery, heavy stores, boats and baggage, necessary for prosecuting the siege of Forts Carillon and St. Frederic. During this time the corvette, Halifax, which had been sunk at the head of the lake after Abercrombie's retreat the preced- ing year, was raised and refitted, together with several batteaux, and a large floating battery, in which labor Captain Loring of the English navy, lent his most efficient aid. In the meantime several skirmishes both by land and water occurred between the scouting parties of the opposing forces, in the majority of which the French were triumphant. Towards the end of July, the baggage and artillery having arrived, the troops were embarked in the batteaux which had been brought overland, and proceeded down Lake George. Like to the array of the preceding year, Amherst's force was arranged in four columns, the two centre ones consisting of six battalions of regulars numbering five thousand seven hundred and fifty-three men, being led by General Amherst in person ; while the two wings comprised nine battalions of provincials and a regiment of light iiifautry amounting in all to five thou- sand two hundred and seventy-nine men under the command of General Gage. The entire force amounted to eleven thousand one hundred and thirty-three men, including one hundred and eleven of the Royal artillery, having in charge fifty-four pieces of artillery of various calibre. On their passage through the lake, the general with his stafiT landed on the point where Abercrombie built his camp-fires the year before. Here the army bivouacked on the night of July the 21st. Notwithstanding the weather was tempestuous, and the lake rough and boisterous, the army resumed its progress in the morning. With Rogers's corps in advance, the boats pushed steadily forward through the whitened crests of the roll- ing waves and debarked on the west side of the outlet of Lake George.^ The rangers pushed rapidly forward across the mount- ain ridge and through the thick woods, and were in a short time in possession of the bridge and saw mills at the lower falls, which, in their precipitate retreat, the enemy had failed to de- stroy. On the rising ground above, now known as Mount Hope, ' The main army landed near tlie spot wlaere Abercrombie bad disembarked tbe year before, and proceeded down tbe left bank of tbe outlet, on nearly tbe same route pursued by Lord Howe's corps tbe previous year. — Ihe Conquest of Canada, vol. u, p. 148. 344 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. they were met by a detachment of the regiment de Berry and a small body of Indians under the command of Captain Bournie. An active skirmish ensued, in which the French were repulsed, several of their number killed and wounded and four taken prisoners. Securing their wounded, the remnant of the French advanced party made a precipitate retreat to their fortress two miles distant. This was accomplished by the rangers before they were joined by the grenadiers and light infantry in the command of Colonel Haviland. The heights were occupied the same night by Amherst with the remainder of the army. The rangers and Col. Haviland's corps still held the advance, and were greatly annoyed during the night by a galling fire from flying parties of Canadians and Indians, scouting at the front. A redoubt, and trench with breast-works -had been thrown up on these heights the previous year, prior to the advance of the English army. The name of Mount Hope was at this time conferred upon this locality, significant of the cheering antici- pation of conquest and success, which animated the British forces. Here the entire army laid upon their arms the night of July 22d. The following morning, at an early hour, the armies of the rangers were again called in requisition. They were directed to move with caution and celerity across the Chestnut plain to the nearest point on Lake Champlain, near the enemy's batteries. At the same time a detachment was ordered to the front to carry the main intrencbment by assault, which was done, the enemy retiring to their stronghold without much show of opposition. At about the same time one of the outworks on Lake Champlain was stormed and taken posses- sion of by a party of two hundred rangers. Up to this time the provincial regiments had been busily engaged in transporting the artillery and ammunition across from the other lake. The whole army under cover of the artillery now moved for- ward with care and circumspection, and before noon, was drawn up in line of battle before the barricade and embankment which, the year previously, had been the scene of such terrific slaughter. Here in the middle of these memorable works, was discovered a deep trench containing the remains of those who had fallen in last year's murderous assault. Finding the lines deserted, Amherst caused his grenadiers to push forward and occupy the intrenchments, while the main army encamped a short distance to the rear. FORT CARILLON ABANDONED. 345 The defense of the frontier of Lake St. Sacrament and fortress of Carillon, was entrusted at this time to M. de Bourlemaque, an officer of distinguished ability, who for two campaigns had served with great success in this vicinity. The garrison con- sisted of one battalion of the regiment of La-Reine, two battal- ions of the regiments of Berry, one hundred and tifty soldiers detached from the other five battalions, an equal number of soldiers of the marine, and eight hundred provincial militia, making an aggregate of two thousand three hundred men. His instructions, based upon despatches recently received from the court of France, were not to hazard an engagement, but to fall back before the advance of the English army, and take po- sition upon an island in the river St. John, which was judged to be the post best adapted to protect the frontier.^ The main body of the French and Canadian forces were at this time drawn away by Montcalm to the north for the defense of the almost im- pregnable stronghold of Quebec, which was being threatened by the veteran brigades under the command of the daring Wolfe. M. de Bourlemaque, finding the English army too well pre- pared for an attack, and he being too circumspect to trust the event of a siege, prudently resolved to act in conformity with his instructions, and abandon the fortress to its inevitable fate. Accordingly preparations were made for a retreat, and during the night of the 23(1 the main division of the army filed noiselessly out and retired to their boats. The final defense of the post was committed to the care of Capt, d'Hebecourt and four hundred men. During the retreat of the main body the atten- tion of the British army was diverted by the assault of this small force upon the intrenchments. This threw the English lines into such confusion that they fired upon each other, thus enabling the assaulting party to retire in safety to their de- fenses. In this aff'ray the English lost sixteen men. During the next three days,'the fire from the French batteries was main- tained with great activity and efi'ect, holding the English well in check. Among the killed in these discharges, was Colonel Townsend, assistant adjutant-general, an officer of great ability, and universally beloved throughout the army. During this period, the English engineers were busily en- gaged in planting siege batteries, while a portion of the army ' Vide Colonial Documents, vol. x, p. 105-4. 44 346 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. were employed in preparing fascines. At the same time a por- tion of the rangers were despatched on a scout to Crown Point. To Major Rogers was entrusted the important duty of cutting away a large boom, which the French had built across the narrow part of the lake, opposite the fort, to obstruct the navi- gation. Day by day, the trenches were advancing, and the English batteries began to play upon the outworks of the fort, while their officers and gunners were constantly being picked off by the sharpshooters of Rogers's corps, who were engaged in skirmishing from the covert of the adjacent forest. On the eveningof the 26th, some deserters brought to the En- glish camp intelligence that the French had abandoned the fort, and, that in expectation of an assault from the besieging army, a slow match had been left burning which connected with the magazine, and battery, every gun of which was loaded to the muzzle with grape, canister and chain shot. In addition to this, several mines charged with the most destructive missiles were sprung beneath the fortifications. This timely notice saved the English forces. At ten o'clock at night, in the sight of the whole British army, which was drawn out in anticipation of the spectacle, the most terrific explosion took place. Running along the cleft chasms in the rocky ground, the yellow fire rushed, greedily lapping with the forked tongues of its lambent flame, the gaping crevices in the massive masonry, that trem- bled, reeled and fell, while the solid earth for many rods shook as with the throes of an earthquake. One after another, the guns of the fortress flashed out from the sulphurous glow, that invested the ruined pile, and their sharp reports were slowly answered by long, dull echoes from the deep caverns beneath. Bombs, grenades and rockets, booming and whirring through the heavy night air, exploded in every direction, trailing earth- ward long and glittering lines of various colored light. Soon, through the dim haze of smoke and vapor, the glaring red light of the barracks and woodwork of the fortress burst forth, re- vealing through the veil of surrounding gloom, the ruined wrecks hurled in unsightly piles along the line of fortiflcation, while here and there, a long gaping fissure in the smoking earth exhibited the direction of the mines, and the tremendous agencies which had toppled down the massive ramparts and towering bastions from their rocky bases. A FRENCH RETREAT. 347 After the mines were sprung, the retreat of the French be- came so precipitate that their scouting parties were not called in, and these subsequently surrendered themselves as prisoners to the English. The same day, two whaleboats, and one large scow were transported from Lake George, across the isthmus that separates the lake. In these. Major Rogers with sixty rangers, embarked at dusk and crossed to the eastern shore of Lake Champlain. Before accomplishing the destruction of the boom, the party were startled by a terrific explosion. The fortress had been undermined by the French, and as soon a8 the mines were sprung, the garrison embarked in their boats and swiftly pulled away to the north. At this juncture Rogers with his party, having succeeded in getting their boats across the boom, made a sharp attack and drove several of the enemy's boats on the east shore, where in the morning, ten boats with a large quantity of baggage, fifty casks of powder, and quite an amount of shot and fixed ammunition, together with sixteen prisoners were captured, and reports of the same returned to the general in command the same evening. Through the gallantry of a sergeant belonging to one of the batteries of the line, the French flag was taken down on the morning of the 27th, from its elevation among the blazing ruins, and for the first time in its dark and bloody history, the red cross of St. George flaunted its silken folds above the blackened and grim battlements of Carillon. As soon as practicable, a detachment of troops was sent to extinguish the flames which yet glowed about the ruined fortress. This work was successfully accom- plished in a short time without any loss to the captors. I*Tot- withstanding the fire, a vast quantity of spoils, including all the heavy artillery together with a profusion of light arms and munitions of war, fell into the hands of the English. From the moment of landing up to the time possession was taken of the fort, General Amherst lost only seventy-six men, including the wounded, while nearly double that number of the French were taken in the progress of the siege, and wei^ now held as prisoners of war by the victors. Soon after, the fortress at Crown Point having been aban- doned by the enemy, was taken possession of by a detachment of rangers. The joy with which the capture of these two import- ant posts was received throughout the colonies, pervaded all ranks of society, and lifted up the vail of doubt and gloom 348 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. which had so long rested like a funereal pall over the harassed frontier. The campaign for the British arms had been an un- interrupted record of brilliant achievements and triumphant success. North and west as well as here, the conquests fore- shadowed a future of brighter promise, enuring to the tranquil- ity and happiness of the country at large, and the lasting renown of the officers whom the judgment of the great Pitt had selected for these responsible trusts, reflecting by their gallant achieve- ments additional lustre upon his splendid genius, (a) (a) It was during this season of the capture of the fortress at Ticonderoga, that Fort George, or all that was ever built of it, was constructed by Col. James Mon- tressor of whom the following sketch is taken from Wilson's Orderly Book {Mun- sell's Hist. Series), p. 73, note. James Montressor (spelled Montrezure in the text), became director of en- gineers and lieutenant colonel in the British army 4th January, 1758, in which year he was at the head of the engineer department in the expedition against Ticonderoga under Abercrombie. He drew the plan of Fort Stanwix and the surrounding country in the summer of the same year. He was chief engineer also to Amherst's expedition and superintended the construction of Fort George, at the head of I/ake George, in July, 1759. He obtained in 1771 a grant of 10,000 acres of land at the forks of the Pagkataghan, or Otter creek, in the present town of Panton, Vt., and in May, 1773, became colonel in the army. He died in the month of December, 1775." INDIAN DEEDS. 349 CHAPTER VI. The Land Patents — The Dellius Grant — The Lydius Pur- chase — The Kataderosseras Patent — The Glen Grant — The Qu^ENSBURY Patent. )HE greed of wealth, and lust of power, which were among the most powerful incentives, and active in- strumentalities toward the pushing out, and estab- lishment of new settlements in the virgin wilderness of the new world, led to the early issue of royal patents, and colonial land grants, covering immense and valuable tracts of territory to partisan favorites, and needy courtiers. Following in the wake of the Van Rensselaers, the Lansings, the Bayards, and Van Courtlandts, the Eev. Godfrey Dellius, the Dutch minister at Albany, who had the address, and influ- ence, to secud'e the appointment as one of the commissioners of Indian affairs, made use of his position to obtain the convey- ance from the Indians and a subsequent confirmation by patent of two large wilderness tracts, bordering upon Lakes Georo-e and Champlain and the east banks of the Hudson as far south as the Battenkill. To quote the language of the early historian of the province,^ he had fraudulently obtained the Indian deeds according to which the patent had been granted. * * One of the grants included all the land within twelve miles on the east side of the Hudson river, and extended twenty miles in length, from the north bounds of Saratoga. Another state- ment says the patent was made under the great seal of the province, bearing date Sept. 3d, 1696, and embraced the ter- ritory " lying upon the east side of the Hudson river, between the northernmost bounds of Saratoga and the Rock Rossian,^ containing about 70 miles in length, and 12 miles broad, subject to a yearly rent to the crown of one hundred raccoon skins.^!" ' SmUKs History of New York, p. 159. "^ " At this period, the country on both sides of the Hudson, was called Saratoo-a. The Rock Rossian is in Willsborough, Essex county, and is now called Split rock." — Macauley's Hist, of N. Y., vol, ir, p. 412, note. ^ JIunseU's Annals of Albany , vol. i, p. 95. Macauley's Hist, of N. F., vol. ii, ut supra. 350 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. This patent was issued under the great seal of the province, by Col. Fletcher while acting as governor in 1696, and included the greater portion of Essex, Warren, and Washington counties. This with other patents was vacated at the instance of Lord Bellamont, at the session of the provincial assembly, which was organized March 21st, 1699. ^Notwithstanding this fact, Dellius still asserted his claim and right to the territory in question, and on his return to Holland is commonly stated to have dis- posed of his interests therein to his successor in the ministry at Albany, the Rev. John Lydius.^ Nearly all the earlier writers concur with singular unanimity in making this statement, and are endorsed by such later writers as Gordon, Fitch and Lossiug. "In a pamphlet exposition of the title of Lydius, printed at New Haven in 1764, doubtless by his authority, he says nothing about the Dellius grant, but claims under an Indian deed in language as follows : " The father of the present Colonel Lydius, being a minister of the gospel at Albany, was well known to have taken much pains with the Mohawk Indians for a series of years, in which (on his decease) he was succeeded by his son aforesaid, who (though not a clergyman) still continued their instruction, till he so far ingratiated himself into their favor, that on the first day of February, 1732, he obtained a deed of the heads of that nation, for two certain tracts of land lying on Otter creek and Wood creek, and bounded as follows : Beginning at the mouth of Otter creek, where it empties into Lake Charaplain and runs easterly, six Dutch miles (equal to twenty-four English ;) then runs southerly to the uppermost falls on Otter creek, being about fifteen Dutch miles, be the same more or less; then westerly six Dutch miles, and thence northerly to the place of beginning. The other on Wood creek beginning two Dutch miles and a half due north of the place called Kingequaghtenock^ or the falls ' Lydius was not tlie immediate successor of Dellius. In Aufjust, 1683, the Re- formed Dutch church of Albany, took measures for determining the salary of the newly arrived pastor from Holland, the Rev. Godefridus Dellius. On the 12th of May, 1G99, he was deposed by act of general assembly " from the exercises of his ministerial function in the city and county of Albany, for the illegal and surrepti- tious obtaining of said grants." Having ten months in which to procure his rein- statement, the Rev. John Peter Nucella occupied the pulpit as a temporary supply until the 20th of July, 1700, when he was succeeded by the Rev. John Lydius whose ministry tenninated with his death 1st March, 1700. — MunseU's Annals of Albany, vol. i, pp. 82-88, 95. W tq Saratoga. The Delltus Grant of 1696. This Grant was bounded west by the Hudson, north and south by dotted lines and Wood creelc. The shaded part represents the Grant in two parcels as erroneously claimed by Duane.— HaWe Hist. Vermont^ p. 490. 352 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. on Wood creek ; and thence runs westerly to the falls on Hudson river, going to Lake St. Sacrament; thence down said river five Dutch miles; and thence running easterly five Dutch miles; thence southerly three Dutch miles and a half; thence easterly five Dutch miles ; and thence northerly to the place of beginning. The pamphlet then states that his title by the Indian deed was confirmed and declared valid by Governor Shirley of Massachu- setts, in obedience to the special command of his majesty. The Indian deed to Lydius, as well as the confirmation of it, if they ever existed, were doubtless both founded in fraud. But the description of the laud claimed by Lydius, as well as the title under which he professes to derive it, seems to exclude any idea that it had any connection with the previous grant to Dellius." ^ On the strength of this claim, Mr. John Henry Lydius, son of the minister, erected a block house on the south side of Fort Ed- ward creek and a trading post on the site of old Fort ISTicholson which had been built as early as 1709 ; built mills, supplied with ■water from a wing-dam extending from the mainland to the island opposite the village, put up a number of log dwellings, introduced a small colony of dependents, and, for a period of ten years, maintained a considerable state and establishment, claiming for himself the title of governor of Fort Edward in his majesty's dominions of North America.^ He was familiar with many of the Indian dialects, was often consulted by Sir William Johnson in reference to Indian afltairs, and was to some extent the rival of the astute baronet, in the infiuence and regard of the wandering tribes, who enjoyed his hospitality, accepted his gifts, and looked up to him as their father. His little settle- ment and fort which was named for him, were once or twice made the subject of incursions by the savages in 1745, when the improvements were utterly destroyed and the inhabitants driven ofl:*. They were afterwards rebuilt and reoccupied to some extent, and Lydius is supposed to have acquired a handsome property in the prosecution of his trafiic with the Indians. After the outbreak of the last French war, he held for a year ' Dr. Hall in No. 5, vol. iii, Historical Magazine for 1868, p. 310. It will be perceived by the above defined boundaries, that the greater portion of the town of Queensbury was included in the Lydius claim. ' " Lydius soon afterward built a stone trading house upon the site of Fort Ed- ward. Its door and windows were strongly barred, and near the roof, the walls were pierced for musketry. It was erected upon a high mound, and palisaded, as a defense against enemies." — Lossing's Hudson, p. 74. « THE KAYADEROSSERAS PATENT. 353 or more some subordinate position in connection with the pub- lic service, but falling into disagreement with his superiors he afterwards returned to Europe, and disappeared from public view. He died at Kensington near London, Eug., in the spring of 1791, at the advanced age of 98. We next come to the consideration of the Kayaderosseras patent,^ whose north line cuts through the west and south west portions of the town, and from the beginning has given rise to almost interminable litigation. The early law reports ^ of the century, are loaded with these cases, whose various points and issues have hardly yet been completely tested. One of the more recent cases was tried in 1857, being brought by Thomas B. Bennett, who claimed under the Kayaderosseras patent, against Abraham Wing and others who also claimed under the same patent but from a different deed. Bennett's action being founded on a supposition that Wing would claim under the Queensbury patent, he was defeated with costs. It is proper to state how- ever, that there were other points in issue. The great Kayaderosseras patent, ^ was founded on a grant ' The original Kayaderosseras patent is on file in the county clerk's olfice at Ballston Spa. ^ Brandt ex dem Walton and others, against O. and D. Ogden, Gaines's Reports, vol. Ill, p. 6, 1803. The question in issue seems to have been whether Fort Miller falls, or Baker's falls were tlie third fall on the Hudson river. At this trial Fort Miller was decided to be the third fall ; but at the next trial the decision was re- versed, and it was afterward irrevocably established that Baker's falls was the third fall on the Hudson river, which agrees with the field books and maps of early surveys. A rock at this point conspicuously marked as a monument was the starting point of the triaugulations and surveys. See Brandt ex dem Walton against 0. and D. Ogden, Feb., 1806, \st Johnson, p. 156. ' " Kayaderosseras is the name of the creek which flows into Saratoga lake, and of the mountain in which it arises, west of South Corinth, and of the colonial pa- tent covering creek, mountain, and a large tract of adjacent land, including about half of Saratoga county, and some of Warren." — Letter to the author from Judge Say. Copy of a Descnption of Kayaderosseras Patent from the Wing M8S. " Kayaderosseras alias Queensbury, granted by Queen Anne, the 2d day of Nov., 1708 beginning at a place in Schenectady river about three miles distant from the south westerly bounds of Nistigione, the said place being the south-westerly corner ot the patent then lately granted to Nanning Harmanse, Peter Fauconier, and others, thence along the said Schenectady river westerly to the southeasterly corner of a patent lately granted to William Apple, thence along the easterly, northerly and westerly lines of the said William Apple's patent down to the above said river, thence to Schenectady bounds, or the south-westerly corner of the said patent on the said river, so along the easterly northerly and westerly bounds 45 354 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. obtained in 1702 from two Mohawk sachems named Ter-jen-nin- ho-ge, or Joseph, and De-han-och-rak-has, or Hendrick. The grantees were Robert Livingston and David Schuyler; and the consideration, sundry goods, wares and merchandise. It was soon afterward alleged that the purchase was fraudulent, the chiefs signing the deed being intoxicated for that purpose, and in DO way authorized by their tribe to dispose of the lands em- braced in the purchase, and that much more territory was claimed and subsequently granted by patent than was embraced even by this fraudulent conveyance. For upwards of sixty years, this transaction was a prolific source of anxiety to the Indians, and of reproach and trouble to the whites. At a council held with the lower castle of the Mohawks at Albany, Thursday, June 27, 1754, Lieut. Gov. James De Lancy presiding, the speaker in behalf of the Indians said : " Brother, we are told a large tract of land has been taken up called Kayaderosseras, beginning at the half moon,^ and so along up the Hudson river, to the third fall and thence to the Cack- nowaga or Canada creek which is about four or five miles above the Mohawk, which, upon enquiry among our old men, we can- not find was ever sold, and as to the particular persons, many thereof down to the said river again, thence along the said river up westerly to the south-easterly bounds of a tract of land then lately granted to Ebenezer Wil- son, and John Abeel, and so along the patent round to the south-westerly corner thereof up the said Schenectada river then continuing to run westerly up said Schenectada river to a place or hill called Tweetonoudo being five miles distant or thereabouts from the south-westerly corner of the Wilson and Abeel's patent, thence northerly to the northwesternmost head of a creek called Kayaderosseras about fourteen miles more or less, thence eight miles more northerly, then easterly or northeasterly to the third falls on Albany river about twenty miles, more or less thence along the said river down southerly to the northeasterly bounds of Saratoga thence along the said Saratoga northerly, westerly and southerly bounds on the said river, thence to the north-easterly corner of Anthony Van Schaik's lands on the said river, so northerly and westerly along the said Van Schaik's patent to the north-east corner of the above said patent granted to Naning Har- manse, Peter Fauconier and others thence along the northerly and Avesterly bounds thereof down to the above said river of Schenectada it being the place where it first began, which said tract of land we have divided into twenty-five allotments viz : Allotment No. 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 31, 22, 23, 24, and 25, are controverted, and the remaining allotments, viz.: Allotment No. 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, are not controverted, also the lots No. 1 and 2, distinguished in the map by the red stain, which together contain 21,350 acres we have set apart for defraying the charges of the partition." (Not signed.) * " The arable land immediately above, (the Cohoes fall), they (the Dutch), de- noted as the Halve maan, the half moon, from its crescent like form along the hill on the western side." — Judge Benson inMunseWs Annals of Albany, vol. 2, p. 236. THE KA.YADEROSSERAS PATENT. 355 of them live in this towu,^ but there are so great a number, we cannot name them." This purchase was confirmed by letters patent from the crown in 1708 to thirteen patentees and contained by estimation about 800,000 acres lying between the Hudson and Mohawk rivers. A great proportion of the land titles in Saratoga county, as also the western part of Warren county, are predicated upon this grant.^ The points in controversy were amicably settled in 1768, by the recession to the natives of a portion of the disputed ter- ritory lying near the Mohawk river,^ and the payment by the proprietors of 5,000 dollars for the remainder, extending on the Hudson (with the exception of two small patents previously issued) to the falls at Sandy Hill. The word Kayaderosseras, is derived from the creek of that name, and signifies the crooked stream, which graphically de- scribes it. Among the ancient landmarks connected with the survey of this tract, were a rock on the west side of the river near the foot of Baker's falls ; a point near the Big falls in the town of Luzerne, Warren co. ; and a towering pine, whose lofty crest, is at all seasons of the year conspicuous from the summit of the Palmertown mountain, about two miles north from Doe's Corners in the town of Wilton. The swerve of the river out of its general direction, from the Queensbury west line, to Baker's falls, left a gore containing upwards of two thousand acres, be- tween the north line of the Kayaderosseras patent, and the Hud- sou river at and below Glen's Falls. This tract afterwards became known as the Glen patent. It was at one time petitioned for, as appears by documents on file in the secretary of state's office at Albany, by Simon and John Hemsen, on the 14th of September, 1769, and an order was issued in council for its conveyance on the 29th of Sep- tember, 1770. In the mean time, however, other claims were asserted as appears by the following : * Albany, -where the council was being held. ^ In one of the road surveys, for the town of Queensbury for 1820, the north boundary of the Kayaderosseras patent is made the line of a newly relayed road. — Town records, p. 310. " " On the 15th of Jan'y, 1793, the legislature of this state appointed a commis- sion consisting of Egbert Bensen and Peter Curtenius of Dutchess, Samuel Jones of New York, Jesse Woodhull of Orange and Cornelius C. Schoonmaker of Ulster counties, to ascertain and settle the boundaries of the patent of Kayaderosseras and Half Moon. 356 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. " We the undermentioned subscribers do hereby certify that we, being associates in a certain purchase made from the Indians of the Mohuwk Castle by John Grlen jr., Philip Van Petten, Simon Schermerhorn, for all the vacant lands lying between Sacondago, Kayaderosseras and the river to the third falls, i we hereby allow and agree, that John Glen jr. (a), is to have that part lying near the third falls on Hudson's river containing about fifteen hundred acres, we hereby allow, and agree wtth the said John Grlen jr., that he may take out a special patent for the said tract of land.- Seymen Schermerhorn, Philip V. Van Petten, Cornelius Cuyler, Johannis Schermerhorn, John Cuyler jr., Ryckart Vanfranken, Cornelius Glen, John Roseboom, Henry Glen, Chris. Yates, for myself and Jellis Abrm. C. Cuyler, Fonda, Seymon Job's Veeder, Harms. H. Wendell, Deryk V. franken, Aaron Van Petten." Reyier Schermerhorn, This petition was endorsed as having been granted on the request of Peter Remsen, in his own behalf and for Simon and Peter A. Remsen, and was succeeded by the following applica- tion : " To the Honorable Cadwallader Colden, Esq., lieutenant governor, and commander in chief in and over the province of New York, etc., etc., etc. In council. Humbly showeth That your Petitioner and associates have made a purchase of all the vacant lands lying between the patents of Kaya- derosseras, Sacondago, and Hudson's river to the third falls on said river, your petitioners therefore Humbly Pray your Excellency will be pleased ' Baker's falls on the Hudson river. A long and costly law suit in the early part of the century, hinged upon the question whether the third fall on the Hudson river applied to Baker's falls or the falls at Fort Miller. The question was ulti- mately decided to apply to the former, an opinion abundantly corroborated by all the earlier maps and surveys. ' This tract had been petitioned for by John Glen and others as early as May 6th 1761, thus taking i^recedence in priority of the Queensbury patent. — Vide Calendar of N. T. Land Papers, p. 303. {a) Tlio original immigrant to this country bearing this name was Sander Leen - dcrtso Glen, who " was a servant of the West India Company at Fort Nassau, in 1633 ; received a grant of land there in 1651 ; also received a patent for a lot in Smit's Valey, New Amsterdam, in 1646, which he sold in 1660 ; was then called Coopman, of Beverwyck. In 1665, he obtained a patent for lands in Schenectady, which land, he called Nova Scotia, and became his permanent residence. He owned real estate in divers parts of Albany, and was a considerable trader with THE GLEN PATENT. 357 to grant them a Patent for a small part thereof. Beginning at the third falls on Hudson's river, and so up the river till it joyns the line of Kaya- derosseras Patent and so along the line thereof to the third falls aforesaid, being the place of beginning, together with all the Islands in the said river opposite. And your Petitioners shall ever pray.i John Glen Jr. Henry Glen. The Bnruham family of this village have, in their possession, a lease engrossed on parchment, in which, on the 5th of Feb., 1772, John Glen conveys to Christopher Yates, the use for one the Indians. His wife was Catalyn Doncassen or Dongan," by whom he had three sons, Jacob ; Sander ; and Johannes. He died 13th Nov., 1685.' Capt. Johannes, son of the above, was born 5th Nov., 1648. He " settled in Schenectady; married firstly, Annatie, daughter of Jan Peek, May 2d, 1667. She died 19th December, 1690. He married secondly Diwer, daughter of Evert Janse Wendel, and widow of Myndert Wemp, June 21, 1691, in Albany. She died April 10, 1724; lie died Nov. 6th, 1731. He built the present Sanders mansion in Scotia, in 1713, and occupied the same until his death. His property was spared when Schenectady was burned, by order of the governor of Canada, for kindness shown to French prisoners captured by the Mohawks." ^ Col. Johannes Glen, after whom our village was named, was the son of Jacob wbo was the son of Johannes jr., who was the son of Jacob, the eldest son of the original immigrant, and brother of Capt. Johannes Glen of Schenectady. Accord- ing to Prof. Pearson's record,'' he was born 2d of July, 1735, and baptized in Albany where his father lived and died. His mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Cuyler. He " was quartermaster in the French and Revolutionary wars, stationed at Schenectady ; in 1775 bought lands on the Hudson, above Fort Edward, of Daniel Parke, which tract was afterwards called Glen's Falls. He built and occupied the house now owned by Mr. Swortfiguer, in Washington street, (Sche- nectady). He married Catharina, daughter of Simon Johaunese Veeder. She died October 22d, 1799, aged 57 years, 9 months, 26 days, he died at Schenectady, Sept. 23, 1828, aged 93 years. They had seven children, the oldest of whom was Jacob, who was baptized Jan. 25th, 1761. Of him the same record* states that " in 1795, he was in business at, and owned the Glen's Falls ; removed to Chambly, Canada, as early as 1806, where he died Nov. 27th, 1843, aged 82 years, 10 months and 4 days. He married Frances Stenhouse, and had three children. Prof. Pear- son, already largely quoted, adds in a communication to the author, that the colonel, towards the close of his life, became poor and was supported by kind friends in no way connected with the family. His financial embarrassments are conjectured to have resulted from his connec- tion with public affairs, and the consequent neglect of his private interests. This and the preceding document, through the courtesy of the Hon. Diedrich Willers, secretary of state, I have been permitted to copy from the originals in the State Archives. 1 From First Settlem of Albany County, by Professor Jonathan Pearson, p. 53. "^ Genealogies of the First Settlers of Schenectady, by Jonathan Pearson, p. 76. ' Genealogies of the First Settlers of Schenectady, p. 77. ' Ibid, p. 78. 358 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. year of part of two islands iu the Hudson river and a tract of laud on the west side of Hudson's river, the same beiug a part, as the instrument states, of a patent granted to John Glen and Henry Glen. The islands referred to, are those lying near the eastern boundary of the town of Queensbury, and elsewhere referred to, as owned first, by the Jessups, and afterwards by Daniel Jones. More space is here devoted to the consideration of the Glen tract than would otherwise be given it, from the fact that the name of Glen's Falls is derived from one of the patentees, the circumstances connected with which have been presented to the pubhc in such distorted shape, as to require a new and thorough explanation. According to a tradition of the Parke family, whose descend- ants still reside in our neighborhood, a portion of the Glen estate, embracing the extensive water power at South Glen's Falls, was purchased of Elijah Parke ^ the original settler iu that neighborhood.^ After the revolutionary war Glen rebuilt the mills, destroyed during that struggle, manufactured lumber to some extent, and spent some weeks every summer season with his horses and colored servants, at a cottage originally built by ' Some confusion lias arisen by reason of the different modes of orthography followed in spelling this family name. The family claims aifinity with the Parke family of Virginia so nearly allied to the Curtis and Washington families. The autograph of Daniel Parke shows that he also followed this spelling. * According to the Parke family legend, a grant of this valuable tract was ob tained shortly prior to the revolution. This title was procured by Elijah Parke, the father of Daniel Parke, mentioned in a subsequent chapter, who, in 1773, made a clearing, commenced a settlement, and erected the first mills at this point. By permission some years since, I copied the following inscription from the fly-leaf of the Parks family Bible, which affords some support to the foregoing statement : " I, S. Parks and Susannah my wife was married in 1789, May. I was 34 years old March 5, 1789. I was born in the town of Half-Moon now in the village of Waterford, when I was 2 months old my father moved his family to the town of Sharon iu the St. of Connecticut. We lived there until 1773 and May the 10 and then my father moved his family to what was then called Wing's falls and now called Glen's falls and there built the first mills that was ever built there. And we suffered a great deal in that struggle for liberty we lost our lives and property and became poor and weak. I S. PARKS." This statement in relation to the purchase by Glen from Parke, is corroborated by Prof. Jonatiian Pearson of Union College, who, in a communication to the author, states that his authority is in a conveyance to be found in vol. x, p. 199, Book of deeds, Albany county, clerk's office. The title however seems to have been iu Daniel Parke, Elijah's sou. PARKE FAMILY TRADITION. 359 f ■ ■. one of the Parke family, and which stood on the hill overlooking the site now covered by the paper mill. Here, if tradition be of any worth, he maintained a state and style of opulence and splendor, superior to any in all the vicinity. It was during one of these visitations, that in a convivial moment, it was proposed by him to pay the expenses of a wine supper for the entertain- ment of a party of mutual friends if Mr. Wing would consent to transfer his claim and title to the name of the falls. Whether the old quaker pioneer thought the project visionary, and imprac- ticable, or whatever motive may have actuated him, assent was given, the symposium was held, and the name of Glen's Falls was inaugurated.^ Mr. Glen hastened to Schenectady, and ordered some hand bills printed, announcing the change of name. These were posted in all the taverns, along the highway, and bridle paths from Queensbury to Albany, and the change of name was effected, with a promptitude that must have been bewildering to the easy going farmers of the town in those days. The fol- lowing letter; written in elegant running hand, and still exist- ing among the Wing MSS., is believed to determine the date of this enterprise. " Mr. Grlen's compliments to Mr. Wing, and requests the favor of him to send the advertisement accompanying this by the first conveyance to his friends at Quaker Hill. " Mr. Glen hopes Mr. and Mrs. Wing and the family are all well. Glen's falls, April 29th, 1788." Superscribed " Mr. Wing, Queensbury." After various preliminarj' applications, dating from Jany., 1760 ; and originally asking for a grant of a township six by eight miles in extent, on the thirty-first day of March, 1762, Daniel Prindle, Elihu Marsh, Thomas Hungerford, Samuel ' Of Col. Glen's kind heart and genial disposition, something of a glimpse may be caught from the following extract : " 27th, Dec, 1780. " I alighted at Colonel Glen's, (in Schenectady), the quarter master general of this d?strict, a lively, active man. He received me in the politest manner ; an excellent fire, and two or three glasses of toddy, warmed me, so as to enable me to ask him some questions, and to return immediately, for night was coming on, and the Vicomte de Noailles expected me at dinner at five o'clcck. Colonel Glen lent me horses to return to Albany, and was so good as to conduct me himself into the Indian village." — Chastellux's Travels in North America, Eng. translation, vol. I, p. 401. 360 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Huugerford, John Buck, Daniel Tryon, Amos Leach, Benja- min Seel3^e, Anthony Wanser, Jonathan Weeks, John Page, Elihu Marsh, junior, Abraham Wanzer, Benjamin Elliot, John Seeley, Aaron Prindle, Thomas Northorp, Ezekial Pain, Jede- diah Graves, David Commins, Ebenezer Preston, David Preston and Joshua Agard, twenty-three petitioners in all, agreeably to the instructions of his majesty, who to prevent monopoly of the then wild land of the province, had restricted individual grants of land, to one thousand acres to each bona fide grantee, applied to the provincial council of ISTew York, presided over by the Hon. Cadwallader Golden, lieutenant governor of the province, (and then acting governor in the place of Moncktou who had returned to England) for a grant of twenty-three thousand acres of land lying on the Hudson river, west of lands then recently surveyed for James Bradshaw ^ and others, called Bradshaw's township, and named in the patent the township of Kingsbury. These twenty-three thousand acres embraced a territory of six miles square, and in the original survey of the township, due allowance was made for sundry ponds of water contained therein, as also for highways to be constructed and a due re- gard to the profitable and unprofitable acres " so that the actual area of the township probably contained over thirty thousand acres. The application having been favorably received, the patent was duly granted on the 2yth day of May following, it being in the second j^ear of the reign of King George the third, and was named Queensbury in honor of his then lately wedded consort.^ This grant was at the time of its issue included in the limits of the county of Albany, whose undefined boundaries then included all the northern part of this state and nearly all the western part of the state of Vermont. This grant was made subject to all the royal quitrent provisoes, as also the annual payment of two shillings and six pence sterling for every hundred acres therein. It reserved to the crown, all mines of gold and silver, and also all white or other pine trees fit for masts, of the growth of 24 inches diameter and upwards at 12 inches from the earth. It is very doubtful whether the crown ever profited by these reservations, although the entire township was covered with a heavy growth of timber, the principal part of which was ' James Bradshaw was a resident of New Milford, Litchfield co., Conn., which place was also the home of the greater portion of the applicants for the Queens- bury patent, and contiguous to Quaker Hill, Beekman precinct, and the Oblong, from whence most of the early settlers of Queensbury emigrated. QUEENSBURY PATENT. 361 first growth of yellow pine of magnificent dimensions, from which was manufactured in the early days of the town, lumber of a very superior quality. Among the conditions of the patent was the stipulation for the erection of the town into a body po- litic, providing for the annual election by the inhabitants of one supervisor, two assessors, one treasurer, two overseers of the highways, two overseers of the poor, one collector and four con- stables, the election to take place on the first Tuesday in May, at the most public place in the town, which was forever there- after to be the place for such elections. The patent also was to be vacated, in case three acres for every thousand acres so granted should not be planted or placed under cultivation, within three years from the termination of the war then pend- ing between France and England. The face of the town at that time presented an undulating surface of wilderness, but slightly broken by the numerous streams and ponds within its circuit, whose volume has been greatly diminished by the clear- ing up of the forests and swamps from whence they derived their supplies. Three small clearings at the three picket forts previously named, barely served to break the monotony of the old military road which led from near the intersection of Glen and Warren streets, in an almost direct line to the lot well known in the early part of'the century as the Mallory place. The banks of the river, fringed with forest verdure, the island, the falls, then appeared in their native and undisturbed grandeur. The site of the village was broken by three deep gullies, or ravines, stretching for some distance from, and running at right angles with the river. One of these ravines now forms the principal sewer of the village, running down past the steam furnace of Messrs. Dix and Knox, and in that early day opening upon the river precisely at the 'point occupied by the Glen's Falls Com- pany's Grist Mill. In the upper part of this ravine, John A. Ferriss constructed a fish pond of considerable size, which in 1802 was well stocked with trout, and was then considered one of the ornaments of the place. The second ravine may to this day be distinctly traced commencing at Cross street and running parallel with Elm, crossing Park street, reissuing through the old Berry estate, and finding its outlet in the river just at the head of the falls. At a later period Judge Hay built a fish pond in this ravine, and Mr. Cushing erected a diminutive water 46 362 HISTORY OF THE TO'WN OF QUEENSBURY. power in couEection with the old red market, on the old Spencer place, now the residence of S. L. Goodman. The third followed the course of Basin street, and after effecting a junction with two small rivulets at the basin, opened on the river nearly opposite the steam saw mill. Each of these ravines were in those primeval days the channels of rivulets, which, fed by springs, and supplied by the wash and drainage of the ad- jacent table lands, lent their constant supply to feed the waters of the Hudson. It will be borne in mind that the patent was granted May 20, 1762, and yet by a record of a proprietor's meeting held on the 18th of June, less than a month following, it appears that the ownership of the patent had almost entirely changed hands, only four of the original patentees being retained among the proprietors. This rapid transfer of so large, and apparently important a grant, gave it the appearance of a prearranged bargain and sale, in which influential men of the colony had lent their names to obtain the grant for the benefit of those who proposed becoming actual settlers. At the meeting above men- tioned, a vote was passed by the proprietors authorizing Abraham Wing to keep and preserve the certificate and patent for the township for the benefit of the proprietors. These are now in the possession of one of the descendants of the late Mr. Ashahel "Wing, formerly cashier of the Fort Edward National Bank. At another meeting of the proprietors, held at the shop of Nehemiah and Daniel Merritt, on the Oblong, ^ in Dutchess county, on the 10th of July following, a vote was passed that the town lots in said township be drawn by lot on the 24th inst., at the same place, that Daniel Case and Thomas Aiken * The following spirited description of the Oblong by the Marquis de Chastellux at the close of the Revolutionary war, will hardly fail to be of interest to the descendants of those who first came from that place to settle this town. " At the distance of a mile we again jiass the same river (the Housatonic) on a wooden bridge ; we soon meet with another, called Ten mile river, which falls into this, and which we follow for two or three miles, and then came in sight of several handsome houses, forming a part of the district called The Oblong. It is a long, narrow slip of land, ceded by Connecticut to the state of New York, in exchange for some other territory. The inn I was going to, is in the Oblong, but two miles further on. It is kept by Colonel Moorhouse ; for nothing is more common in America than to see an innkeeper a colonel. They are in general militia colonels, chosen by the militia themselves, who seldom fail to entrust the command to the most esteemed, and most creditable citizens." — Trans. Chas- tellux's Travels in America, vol. i, p. 57. QUEENSBURY PATENT. 363 should perform the drawing, and that John Gurney should make the proper record of such distributions. The survey for the division into lots, wsis commenced on 29th of August, 1762, by Zaccheus Towner, of " New Fairfield, Connecticut, surveyor for the proprietors," and the survey was completed before the following November. In this survey of the township, the village was located at the Half-way brook, at the crossing of the military road, probably because of the few buildings, and clearing already made at that point. The town plot at this point was run out into forty-four ten acre lots, six lots deep from north to south and eight lots deep from east to west, forming an oblong square, intersected through the centre in each direction with a highway eight rods wide, and two four rod roads between the tiers of lots to the east, and west of the main road, the whole plot to be surrounded by a four rod road. The centre lots were reserved for public buildings. The balance of the township was run out into one hundred and one two hundred and fifty acre lots as nearly as possible. At the drawing, above mentioned, Abraham Wing was so fortunate as to draw three of what would now be con- sidered the most valuable lots in town, namely, lots Nos. 29, 36 and 37, on which the greater part of the more densely settled portion of the village of Glen's Falls now stands. On the 8th of November, of the same year, another meeting of the proprietors (at that time increased to thirty), was held at the place before mentioned, when deeds of partition, agreeably to the drawing spoken of, were duly executed each to the other. At this meeting it was also voted that Daniel Chase and "William Haight be appointed to draw lots for the balance of the survey not appropriated in the first division. In this second partition, several of the great lots were subdivided by lines drawn from east to west, and renumbered. On the 23d of February the ensuing year the proprietors met at the building before men- tioned, in Beekman precinct, Dutchess co., and appointed Wm. Smith, Nehemiah Merritt and Abraham Wing, trustees, to par- tition out the hitherto undivided lands. The following document, copied verbatim from the original patent, was written upon two large sheets of parchment in the old English character, and engrossed with great precision and elegance. It is the property now of the family of Richard Wing, deceased, to whom it has descended as an heir-loom, it having 364 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. beeu confided to the keeping of his grandfather, Abraham Wing, by the original grantees, and remained in the possession of the family ever since. Coj>y of the original 2Mient of the town of Queensbury. Compared and corrected with the copy on file in the secretary of state's office at Albany.' GEORGE the Third, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland King, defender of the faith and so forth. To all to whom these presents shall come Greeting. WHEREAS our loving subjects Daniel Prindle, Elihu Marsh, Thomas Hungerford, Samuel Hungerford, John Buck, Daniel Tryon, Amos Leach, Benjamin Seeley, Anthony Wan- ser, Jonathan Weeks, John Page, Elihu Marsh, Junior, Abraham Wanzer, Benjamin Elliot, John Seeley, Aaron Prindle, Thomas Northorp, Ezekiel Pain, Jedediah Graves, David Preston, and Joshua Agard, did by their humble petition presented unto our trusty and well beloved Cadwallader Golden p]squire, our Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-chief of our Province of New York and the territories thereon depending, in America in council on the thirty-first day of March now last past humbly pray our Letters Patent granting to each of the said Petitioners respectively and to their respective heirs, the (quantity of One Thousand Acres of a certain Tract of Land in the said Province vested in the Crown that had been surveyed and laid out for the said Daniel Prindle and his associates above named of the contents of six miles square adjoining to the lands intended to be granted to James Bradshaw and others between Fort Edward and Lake George under the Quit Rent provisoes, Limitations and restrictions directed and prescribed by Our Rpyal instructions together with the like privileges of a Township (as were lately granted to Isaac Sawyer and others) by the name of Queensbury Township. WHICH PETITION having been then and there read and considered of our said council did afterwards on the fifteenth day of April now last past humbly advise our said Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Cbief to grant the prayer thereof. W H ERE- FORE in obedience to our said Royal Instructions our commissioned appointed for the setting out all lands to be granted within our said province have set out for the petitioners above named, ALL that certain Tract or Parcel of Land situate lying and being in the county of Albany on the north side of Hudson's river between Ft. Edward and Lake George BEGINNING at the north-west corner of a certain Tract of land surveyed for James Bradshaw and his associates and runs from the said north-west corner, north twenty-seven chains, then west five hundred and thirty- five ' For this and other courtesies the author begs to make liis acknowledgements to the Hon. Diedricli Willers, secretary of state. QUEENSBURY PATENT. 365 chains, then south five hundred and thirty-six chains to Hudson's river, then down the stream of said River as it runs to the west Bounds of the said Tract surveyed for James Bradshaw and his associates, then along the said West Bounds North to the place where this tract first began con- taining after deducting for sundry ponds of water lying within the above mentioned Bounds Twenty-three thousand acres of land and the usual al- lowances for Highways. AND in setting out the said Tract of Land the said commissioners have had regard to the profitable and unprofitable acres, and have taken care that the length thereof doth not extend along the Banks of any River otherwise than is conformable to our said Royal In- structions for that purpose as by a certificate thereof under their hand- bearing Date the Tweijty-first Day of April now last past and entered on Record in our Secretary's Ofiice in our City of New York may more fully appear. Which said Tract of Land set out as aforesaid, according to our said Royal Instructions. We being willing to grant to the said petitioners their heirs and assigns forever, with the several privileges and powers hereinafter mentioned. Know Ye that of our especial grace certain know- ledge and meer motion We have given granted ratified and confirmed and DO by these presents for us our Heirs and successors give grant retify and confirm unto them the said Daniel Prindle, Elihu Marsh, Thomas Hun- gerford, Samuel Hungerford, John Buck, Daniel Tryon, Amos Leach, Benjamin Seeley, Anthony Wanser, Jonathan Weeks, John Page, Elihu Marsh junior, Abraham Wanser, Benjamin Elliot, John Seeley, Aaron Prindle, Thomas Northorp, Ezekiel Pain, Jedediah Graves, David Cum- mins, Ebenezer Preston, Daniel Preston and Joshua Agard their Heirs and Assignees for ever ALL THAT the aforesaid Tract or parcel of Land set out abutted bounded and described in Manner and Form as above mentioned together with all and singular the Tenements, Hereditaments Emoluments and Appurtenances thereunto belonging or appertaining, and also all our Estate, Right, Title, Interest, Possession, Claim and Demand Whatsoever of in and to the same Lands and Premises and every part and parcel thereof and the Reversion and Reversions Remainder and Re- mainders, Rents, Issues and profits thereof and of every part and parcel thereof, EXCEPT and always reserved out of this our present GRANT unto us our Heirs and Successors for ever all mines of Gold and Silver and also all White and other sorts of Pine Trees fit for masts of the Growth of Twenty-four Inches Diameter and upwards at twelve Inches from the Earth, for Masts for the Royal Navy of us our Heirs and Successors TO HAVE AND TO HOLD one full and equal Three and Twentieth part (the whole into Twenty-three equal parts to be devided) of the said Tract or parcel of Land, Tenements. Hereditaments and Premises by these Pre- sents granted, ratified and confirmed, and every part and parcel thereof with their and every of their appurtenances, (except as is herein before excepted) unto each of them our Grantees above mentioned their Heirs and Assignees respectively. TO their only proper and separate use and 366 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Behoof respectively for ever as Tenants in common and not as joint Tenants. TO BE HOLDEN of us, and Heirs and Successors in fee and common socage as of our Manor of East Grreenwich in our County of Kent within our Kingdom of Great Britain, YIELDING-, rendering, and paying there- fore yearly and every year forever unto us our Heirs and Successors at our Custom House in our City of New York, unto our or their Collector or Receiver General therefore the time being on the Feast of the Annun- ciation of the blessed Virgin Mary commonly called Lady day the yearly rent of two shillings and sis pence Sterling for each and every Hundred Acres of the above granted lands and so in proportion for any less in quantity thereof saving and except for such part of the said Lands allowed for Highways as above mentioned in Lieu and stead of all other Rents, Services, Dues. Duties, and Demands whatsoever for the hereby granted Land and Premises, or any part thereof AND WE DO of our especial Grace certain knowledge and meer motion, create, erect and constitute the said Tract or parcel of Land hereby granted and every part and parcel thereof a Township for ever hereafter to be, continue, and remain and by the name of Queensbury Townships for ever hereafter to be called and known AND for the better and more easily carrying on and managing the public affairs and Business of the said Township our Royal will and plea- sure is and we do hereby for us our Heirs and Successors give and grant to the inhabitants of the said Township all the Powers, Authority, Privi- leges and Advantages heretofore given and granted to or legally enjoyed by all, any or either our other Township within our said Province AND we also ordain and establish that there shall be forever hereafter in the said Township One Supervisor, Two Assessors, One Treasurer, Two Over- seers of the Highways, Two Overseers of the Poor, One Collector and four Constables elected and chosen out of the Inhabitants of the said Town- ship yearly and every year on the first Tuesday in May at the most pub- lick place in the said Township, by the majority of Freeholders thereof. [End of contents of first piece of parchment.] " THEN and there met and assembled for that purpose, hereby de- claring that wheresoever the first Election in the said Township shall be held the future Elections shall forever thereafter be held in the same place as near as may be, and giving and Granting unto the said officers so chosen, power and authority to exercise their said several and respective offices, during one whole year from such election, and until others are legally chosen and elected in their room and stead, as fully and amply as any the like officers have or legally may use or exercise their offices in our said Province. AND in case any or either of the said officers of the said Township should die or remove from the said Township before the Time of their Annual service shall be expired or refuse to act in the Offices for which they shall respectively be choseu, then our Royal Will and pleasure further is and we do hereby direct ordain and require the Freeholders of the said Township to meet at the place where the annual election shall be QEEENSBURY PATENT. 367 held for the said Township and chuse other or others of the said Inhabi- tants of the said Township in the place or stead of him or them so dying removing or refusing to act within Forty days next after such contingency. AND to prevent any undue election in this case, We do hereby ordain and require, That upon every vacancy in the office of Supervisor, the Assessors, and in either of the other offices, the Supervisor of the said Township shall within ten days next after any such vacancy first happens appoint the Day for such Election and give public Notice thereof in Wri- ting under his or their Hands by affixing such Notice on the Church Door, or other most public place in the said Township, at the least Ten days before the Day appointed for such Election, and in Default thereof we do hereby require the Officer or Officers of the said Township or the Survivor of them, who in the order they are hereinbefore mentioned shall next succeed him or them so making Default, within ten days next after such default to appoint the day for such election, and give notice thereof as aforesaid, HEREBY Giving and Granting that such person or persons as shall be so chosen by the majority of such of the Freeholders of the said Township as shall meet in manner hereby directed, shall have, hold, ex- ercise and enjoy the Office or Offices, to which he or they shall be so elected and chosen from the Time of such Election, until the first Tuesday in May then next following, and until other or others be legally chosen in his or their place and stead as fully as the person or persons in whose place he or they shall be chosen might or could have done by virtue of these presents. AND WE do hereby will and direct that this method shall for ever hereafter, be used for the filling up all vacancies that shall happen in any or either of the said Offices between the annual Elections above directed, PROVIDED always and upon condition nevertheless that if our said Grantees, their heirs or assigns or some or one of them shall not within three years next after the conclusion of our present war with France settle on the said Tract of Land hereby granted so many families as shall amount to one Family for every thousand acres thereof OR if they our said Grantees, or one of them, their or one of their heirs, or assigns shall not also within three years to be computed as aforesaid plant and efi"ectually cultivate at the least three acres for every fifty acres of such of the hereby granted Lands as are capable of cultivation, OR if they our said Grantees or any of them or any of their heirs or assigns, or any other person or persons by their or any of their previty consent or procurement, shall fell, cut down or otherwise destroy any of the Pine Trees by these Presents reserved to us our heirs and successors or hereby intended so to be, without the Royal license of us, our heirs or successors for so doing first had and obtained, that then and in any of these cases this our present Grant and every Thing therein contained shall cease and be absolutely void, and the Lands and Premises hereby granted shall revert to and vest in us, our heirs and successors, as if this our present Grant had not been made, anything hereinbefore contained to the contrary thereof in any wise 368 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. notwithstanding PROVIDED further and upon condition also nevertheless, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and successors direct and appoint that this our present Grant shall be registered and entered on Record within six months from the date thereof in our Secretary's Office in our City of New York in our said Province in one of the Books of Patents there re- maining and that a Docquet thereof shall be also entered in our Auditor's Office there for our said Province and that in default thereof this our present Grant shall be void and of none effect any Thing before in these Presents contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. AND WE DO moreover of our Grace certain knowledge and meer motion consent and agree that this our present Grant being registered, recorded and a Docquet thereof made as before directed and appointed shall be good and effectual in the Law to all Intents, Constructions and Purposes what- soever against us, our heirs and Successors notwithstanding any Misreci- ting, Misbounding, Misnaming or other Imperfection or Omission of, in, or in any wise concerning the above granted or hereby mentioned or in- tended to be granted Lands, Tenements, hereditaments and premises or any part thereof. IN TESTIMONY whereof we have caused these our Letters to be made patent and the Great Seal of our said Province to be hereunto affixed. WITNESS our said trusty and well beloved Cadwallader Golden, Esquire, our Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of our Province of New- York and the Territories depending thereon in Ame- rica. At our Fort in our City of New- York the Twentieth day of May in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and Sixty-two and of our Reign the second. (First Skin Line 31 the word of interlined line 47 the words any or wrote on an erazure and Line 49 the word the inter- lined.)" " CLARKE." 1 Endorsements on the back of the Parchment Skin No. 1 : " Secretary's Office 25th May, 1762, The Within Letters Patent are Re- corded in Lib Patents No. 13, Pages 478 to 483." " Geo. Banyar D Sec'y" " New York Auditor Generals Office 1st June, 1762. The within Letters Patent to Daniel Prindle and others are Docqueted in this office." " Geo Banyar Dept Auditor " Endorsement on the back of parchment skin No. 2. Letters Patent. " 20th May, 1762. " To Daniel Prindle, and others for 28000 acres of land in the county of Albany." Attached to these parchments, was the great seal of the pro- vince, a fac-simile of which may be found in the fourth vol. of the Doc'y Hist, of N. Y. ' One of the members of tlic council. PIONEER PROGRESS. 369 CHAPTER Vn. Picket Posts and Block Houses of Queensbury and Fort Ed- ward — Proclamation of Gov. DeLancey — Jeffrey Cowper set- tled AT THE Half-way Brook — Visit of Abraham Wing and Survey of the Queensbury Patent — First Settlement in Queensbury and Erection op Mills — First Child in Queensbury BORN — Location of the First Dwellings — First Town Meeting. ^HE shouts and turmoil of sanguinary strife had scarcely ceased, before the busy axe of the pioneer was heard resoundiug through these storied plains, and in less than ten years from the close of the war, the entire forest border was alive with the industries of the hardy Saxon race, hewing ia pathway to freedom for the oppressed nationali- ties of the old world. In 1760, the year following the events just narrated in the preceding chapter, John Goffe in charge of 800 ISTew Hamp- shire levies, cut a road direct through the wilderness from Charlestown, No. 4, in N'ew Hampshire, to Crown Point, at which place he joined Col. Haviland, in the expedition against Montreal.^ The eastern borders of the state, and the debatable ground known as the Hampshire grants, were already echoing to the strokes of the woodman's axe, and resounding with the hum of toil, and the restless energy of Saxon and Celtic adven- turers. And in advance of patentee, or land owner, the woods and trails of Queensbury were scoured by huntsmen and trap- pers, and disbanded soldiers prospecting among the often trod battle fields, for eligible sites whereon to locate military claims and soldiers' rights. Reference has been made to the three picket forts erected within the limits of the township, during the progress of the French war. These were surrounded by considerable clear- ings, thus affording more than ordinary inducements to the hardy borderers and pioneers to begin settlements in what was then a nearly unbroken forest, where the savages and the wild ' WilsorCs Orderly hook, MunseU's Hist, series, p. 58, note. 47 370 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. beast held paramount and nndivided sway. North of Albany, the only settlements existing at this time, were the small ham- let at Fort Edward, and the still smaller outpost at Stillwater. In a letter to the author in 1851, the late Mr. Timothy Eddy of Fort Edward, then one of the oldest residents there, made the following statement : " There were originally six or eight block houses built in a circular direction on the heights around the fort, perhaps at nearly the same period of its erection. One of the most im- portant of these, was on the hill directly above the lock. One was situated about twenty rods east of the Methodist church, one Qu the south side of the creek half a mile from the fort, and one on the west side of the river on the point of the hill above where the (old) bridge was built,^ and one on each side of the river at the ferry." These, with the homes of the few early settlers there, must then have formed the most considerable settlement between Albany and Montreal. The old fort at Saratoga, which had been destroyed by the French and Indians in 1747, had never been rebuilt. The tide of immigration which, a couple of years later, commenced tilling the wilderness borders of Albany county, with the bustle and thrift of Anglo-Saxon life, had not, as yet, commenced its flow. The following proclamation by Lieut. Gov. DeLancey was made, in view of the need, long felt, of having a hardy popula- tion on the northern frontier, as a protection and bulwark against the incursions of the savages, which had hitherto been not only fearfully frequent, but had held in check, for nearly half a century, the march and progress of civilization. From the Doc'y History of New York, vol. it, p. 556. By the Honorable James DeLancey Esq., His Majesty's Lieutenant Gov- [L.S.] ernor and Commander-in-chief in and over the province of New York and the territories depending thereon in America. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas from the Success of His Majesty's Arms, in the Reduction of the important Fortresses at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the very Strong Works erecting at the latter, the whole Country along Hudson's ' This is called the Royal block house, in a collection of plans elsewhere referred to in this work, and to be found in the military pocket book in the state library at Albany, in which a full detail and sketch is given of this fortification. A PROCLAMATION. 371 River down to Albany, will for the future be so effectually covered and secured from the Ravages of the Enemy, that the Inhabitants may return to their Settlements and abide there with safety to their Persons Families and Estates ; in confidence of which, many have already returned to their Habitations. And whereas the Fortress now erecting at Crown Point is in great forwardness, and His Excellency Major General Amherst hath assured me, that he is determined it shall be so far finished before the Troops go into Winter Quarters, as to answer the Purpose of covering and protecting the Country and as an encouragement to Settlers, he has de- sired I would make known, that those who with the leave of this Govern- ment shall now choose to go and settle between Lake George and Fort Edward, will there find, three Several Spots of cleared Ground, two of them capable of containing half a dozen Families each, and the other not less than twelve ; on which shall be left standing for their Convenience the Wooden Hutts and Coverings of the Troops that have been posted there since the Beginning of the Campaign, which from the footing we have now at Crown Point, will be no longer necessary, and will be evacuated and left for the use of those who shall become Settlers. The first of the said Spotts is situated four miles above Fort Edward ; The Second at the Half way Brook ; and the other three miles from Lake George. The Soil good and capable of Improvement, and all three well watered. The Balf- way Brook being the Spott sufficient for a dozen Families. I have there- fore thought fit by and with the Advice of His Majesty's Council to issue this Proclamation, Hereby inviting the Inhabitants who formerly aban- doned their Dwellings to return to their Settlements, and improve the ad- vantages offered to them under the Protection and Cover of the important Posts and Strong Fortresses above mentioned. And as an inducement to such as shall be inclined to settle on any or either of the three Spotts of Ground above described : I do hereby promise his Majesty's Grant there- of to any Persons who shall apply for the same, on condition of immediate settlement thereof in the form of a Township with a sufficient quantity of Woodland adjoining for that purpose ; and that I will use my Endeavors to obtain for the Grantees an Exemption from the Payment of Quit Rent for such a number of years as his Majesty shall be pleased to indulge therein. Given under my Hand and Seal at Arms at Fort George in the city of New York the twenty-first day of September 1759 in the thirty-third year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second by the Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith and so forth. JAMES DE LANCE Y. By his Honour's Command G. W. Banyar D Secy. God save the King. As already recorded, a response was soon made to tLis procla- mation by the application of Daniel Prindle, and others, for a 372 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. patent for a township of 23000 acres lying upon the Hudson river, and embracing within its limits the three clearings men- tioned. Previous to this, however, the buildings at the Half- way brook had found a tenant in the person of one Jeffrey Cow- per or Cooper, of whom Sir Jeffrey Amherst, in a letter to Mr. Sharpe, dated New York, 20th October, 1762, writes as follows : " The permit to Jeffrey Cooper to occupy the small post at Half-way brook between Fort Edward and Lake George was only intended for the preservation of the barracks, etc., that had been erected there, and for the conveniency of passengers, as I judged it unnecessary, after the reduction of Canada, to leave a garrison at that post. It would seem that Cowper was a sea- faring man, for in the Calendar of English MSS., in the secre- tary of state's office, p. 657, is filed a petition by " Ephraim Cook owner of the Snow Cicero 34 guns" in which he applies for a commission, and in case of his death, " to his first lieutenant, Richard Harris, and Jeffrey Cowper, his second lieutenant to command said Snow Cicero." Cowper (as the name is also spelled on the town records) is therefore without doubt the first permanent bona fide white set- tler in the town of Queensbury. This permit is supposed to have been granted as early as 1759 or 60, while Gen. Amherst was present with his command in this vicinity. Cowper is conjectured to have been a depend- ent if not a relative of the general's. He is referred to in the following journal of Abraham Wing who accompanied the sur- veyor Zaccheus Towner, and made at this time his first visit to the scene of his future life work and labors. " August the 23d day 1762. Then set out for Queensbury township from home early in the morning, and dined at N"ehe- minh Merritts.^ Then set off for our journey and lodged at Esquire Castle's that night. The 24th traveled to Livingstone's manor; the 25th traveled to Grcenbush and lodged at Capt. Dows. The 26th we passed the ferry and eat breakfast in Albany and got our stores and traveled to Stillwater and lodged at Millerd's that night. The 27th was a rainy morning, but we traveled on toBeemises and there we eat breakfast, and waited there a little while, then went forward and eat dinner at Moores, and traveled that night nigh to Fort Miller and stayed there that night. The 28th we set forward being a showery day, made a short stop at Fort Edward where we were obliged to ' Whose three sons had married three of Wing's daughters. PROPRIETORS' MINUTES. 373 show our pass, and then set forward and arrived at the Half- way brook about the middle of the day, where we were doubt- ful of some trouble. We had not been there in the tavern many minutes before the question was asked of the tender, whether we should have the liberty of a room to put our stores in, and so told our business. He replied, there is room enough, and after a short consideration, he replied, if we would go with him, he would show us a room, and accordingly we cleared out our house, put in our stores, and went to surveying the town plot. The 29th, being the first day of the week, set forward early in the morning." ' Through the politeness of the late Mr. Abraham "Wing, some years since, I was permitted to copy from the proprietor's min- utes the following extracts. This book, which for three genera- tions had descended as an heirloom in the family, was destroyed in the great fire, which desolated our village in 1864. " At a proprietors' meeting, held for the township of Queens- bury this 18th day of June 1762 did by the majority of votes agree that Abraham Wing shall keep and preserve the certifi- cate and patent for said township. * * * * " At a proprietors' meeting held at Nehemiah and Daniel Mer- ritt's shop on the Oblong in Dutchess county July 10, 1762. "Voted — that the town lots in said township be drawn the 14th inst. at this house. " Voted — that Daniel Chase and Thomas Akin shall draw the above mentioned lots, first being lawfully qualified and John Gurney to make a record thereof. * * * * " At a proprietors' meeting met according to appointment this 8th day of Nov. 1762, at Nehemiah and Daniel Merritt's shop in Beekman precinct in Dutchess co. "At this meeting voted that Danl. Chase and William Haight were appointed to draw lots for the balance of the lots. * * * * " At a meeting held Feb. 23, 1763, Wm. Smith, Nehemiah Merritt and Abraham Wing were appointed trustees to rent out all the undivided lands. ' The Wing MSS. Here tlie journal abruptly terminates, and it is fair to as- sume that the work of survey went harmoniously forward, until completed. The town plot herein referred to, is elsewhere described as the originally proposed site of the village. 374 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. The following names are recorded as proprietors at the meet- ing held on the 18th of June : John Dobsou, Nehemiah Merritt, Abraham "Wing, Daniel Merritt, John Lawrence, Henry Hay- dock, Wm. Smith, Benjamin Ferriss, John Burling, John Akin, Thomas Dobson, Reed Ferriss, George Bowne, Ichabod Mer- ritt, Elihu Marsh, jr., John Farrington, Haydock Bowne, Na- thaniel Hazard, John Rapelje, Samuel Bowne, Benj'u Seeley, John Carmon, Jacob Haviland, Samuel Hungerford, Joseph Pursell, John Hadok, Edward Burling, Elihu Marsh, Wm. Haviland, Nathaniel Stevenson, Isaac Mann. Thirty-one names in all, and of the entire number not over half a dozen of them who ever became actual residents, although, from time to time their descendants appear among the records of the township. Of the struggles and trials of these early set- tlers we can now have but the faintest conception. The following record from the public archives at Albany goes to show that an early eflbrt was made to improve the valua- ble water power in this neighborhood. " Moses Phillips acct. for Building Saw Mill at Queensbury for Moses Clement according to agreement made with him the 9th of July 1764. (That is to say) Moses Phillips at 7s per day. Jos. Taylor, his jour- neyman at 5s, and John his prentice at 2s per Day. Number of Days for each Man. M Phillips J. Taylor John the Prentice 4 5 G 6 5 6 2* 6 6 6 6 1 6 2 4 5 6 5 5 6 3 6 6 6 2 4 t 5 6 3 6 G G G 1 G 2 By Moses Phillips Acct. for Boarding, Drinking, Washing, and Lodging as pr Acct to Am't of £9.12.0 By a Note on David Mat- thews for . . . £25. 0.0 By one do on Mrs. Cle- ments . . , .£10. 4.6 £44.16.6 £49. 8.9 £4.12.3 67i 55 G7i £23.12.6 £13.15 £G.15 Total sum, To 1 day allowed Extra for each Man 143 £44. 2.6 £44.16.6" The foregoing account being disputed or unpaid, an action was instituted (probably at Albany) for the recovery of the claim OLD ACCOUNTS AND OLD LAW SUITS. 375 in March or April, 1765. Although there is nothing on the face of the account to fix the date of the construction of the mill, it must have heen at least as early as 1764 and possibly earlier. The following memorandum is appended to the account and forms a part of the original paper. " 1 Non Assumpsit to whole. 2 With leave of the Court, Non As- sumpsit as to £4.12.3. parcel and payment of £34.12.0 other parcel before action brought, and Tender and Refusal of Ten Pounds, five sixths Resi- due after action, to wit on the 6th April 1765 with £3.9.3 costs and refusal. " In support of Plea of Paymt. notice of Monies paid to Pltfs. use, of monies lent to him, of Meat, Drink, Washing and Lodging found and pro- vided by Deft, at Pltfs request for Plttf his journeymen apprentices, ser- vants and monies received by Pltf. for Defts. use, and Horse hire due from Pltf to Deft. £10. 4.6 2. 8. 10. 13. 2.6." The result of the suit is not recorded. The location of the mill is left wholly to conjecture, but is supposed to have been near the mouth of the Cold brook, at the eastern boundary of the town, the power being supplied by a wing dam extending across to the island near the left bank of the river. There is no un- certainty at all, however, in the statement that a saw mill existed, and was in full operation here at the falls, as early as 1763, as appears by the following verified statement found among the Wing manuscripts. In the year following, viz. 1764, a saw bill of lumber manufactured for one of the Jessups appears among the same papers. City and County \ of Albany. j The deposition of Simeon Chandler taken upon oath before me Patt Smyth Esq., one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace, for the county aforesaid etc. That in the year 1763, James Bradshaw did in my hearing, agree with Mr. Abraham Wing, and Mr. Nehemiah Merritt, for as many planks and boards as should be wanted for the work necessary to be done for the said mill in Kingsbury, in said year 1763, and on said Wing, and said Merritt departure from Queensbury, said Bradshaw did desire the above said Wing and Merritt would give orders that said Chandler should 376 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. have what was then wanted for said work and said Wing and said Merritt did send a token to John Bracket to saw what planks were wanted for the work aforesaid. The above is a true copy of what was wrote by the hands of Simeon Chandler the 18th day of Dec, 1763. Patt Smyth, Justice. In the course of the summer of the following year (1763) an attempt was made towards a permanent settlement of the town. Mr. Abraham Wing and Ichabod Merritt moved from Dutchess county by slow and toilsome stages, and commenced the work of pioneers in the dense, green wilderness. The first building erected was a log dwelling, situated near the residence lately occupied by Mr. Charles Parsons, on the road leading to Sandy Hill. This was at first occupied by Mr. Abraham Wing, and his family. It is believed, though not certainly known at this late period, that Mr. Merritt, with his family occupied tempo- rarily the block house or picket fort in the neighborhood of Richard's steam saw mill. The second house was built in 1764 also by Abraham Wing, who vacated his first built dwelling to his oldest son. This was likewise a log structure the debris of which may still be found a few rods in the rear of the old Mc- Donald mansion. A moss covered watering trough with its attendant spring, coeval with the log-house just mentioned, may be seen to-day by the roadside opposite the residence, just mentioned. The third building was a log house erected by Abraham Wing, jr., on the site of J. L. Kenworthy's store. A few years since, while laying the gas pipe for that building, the workmen struck upon the foundation stones of the old chimney remaining in the ground a short distance in front of the store. Log dwell- ings were built at an early period at other points, one of which tradition locates at the Butler brook on the plank road, and another on the brow of the hill overlooking Fielding & Mc- Carty's blacksmith shop, and still another near Mr. Henry Crandell's house. From the document appearing below ^ it is ' Know all men by these presents that I Nebemiah Merritt, of Beekman's pre- cinct in Dutchess county, and province of New York, gentleman, for and in con- sideration of tlio sum of five sliilliugs current money of New York, to me in band paid by Abraham Wing, of Beekman's precinct in Dutchess county and province of New York aforesaid, have and by these presents do for me and my heirs, re- mise, release, and foniver quit claim unto him, the said Abraham Wing, his heirs and assigns in his peaceable and quiet possession, now being all that one full and THE FIRST CHILD. 377 evident that another building was erected about this time on the site of the old Spencer tavern or Glen house under the hill. As previously stated, " the pine plains " to the west of us were covered with a heavy growth of superior yellow pine tim- ber, but the uplands along the river banks, and stretching towards the north and east, were interspersed with numerous clumps of a heavy growth of white pine, which were speedily seized upon by the settlers for material with which to construct their rude dwellings. The new proprietors were (with but one or two ex- ceptions) residents of Dutchess county, and though but few of them removed hither, yet from year to year we find their sons, nephews and relatives added to the list of inhabitants to whom their original interest had probably been assigned. The first child of white parents born in this town, was a son of Ichabod Merritt, and this child was the great grandfather of Isaac Mott, Esq., late district attorney for the county and one of the presidential electors in the last canvass. The late Daniel W. "Wing of Fort Edward, and the late Mr. Abraham Wing, of this place, were born in the log-house previously spoken of on the site of J. L. Kenworthy's store. The lumbering business in this region was commenced at a very early period. ]Mrs. Grant, in her Memoirs of an American Lady, in the year 1758, speaks of timber rafts being floated down the river to Albany, and to guard the interests of the equal half of all that saw-mill on the great fall in Queensbury township in Albany county and province of New York aforesaid which we the said Merritt and Wing in joint partnership built together, as likewise furnished said mill with utensils necessary, likewise the dwelling house standing a little northward about ten rods from said mill. Now therefore, what is herein contained and intended is that I the said Nehe- miah Merritt for me, my heirs and assigns will and hereby do release and forever quit claim unto him the said Abraham Wing his heirs and assigns, the one full and equal half of all that mill, dwelling house and utensils belonging to said mill, and furthermore the one equal half of the water, and water course to said mill, as likewise the equal half of said mill dam, raceway, log-way, and all other privileges advantages and profits thereunto belonging, unto him the said Abraham Wing his heirs and assigns forever. In witness whereof, I the said Nehemiah Merritt to this my release have set my hand and seal this seventh day of the tenth month in the year of our Lord one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-five. Nehemiah Merritt. [SEAii.] Sealed and delivered in the presence of Benjn. Ferris junr. Reed Ferris. 48 378 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. crown in this particular, in the j^ear 1770, Adolphus Benzel, son of Archbishop Eric Benzel, of Upsal, Sweden, was appointed inspector of his majesty's woods and forests in the vicinity of Lake Champlain, at a salary of <£300 per annum. His residence was at Crown Point. In May or June, 1865, Mr. William Gilliland, who had ob- tained a grant of lands in the limits of what is now Essex county, transported through this neighborhood a number of colonists to Plattsburgh. About this time the proprietors of the town of Queen sbury deeded to Mr. Abraham Wing, a section of thirty acres of unappropriated land immediately at the falls, in consideration that he had, at considerable expense, erected there a saw-mill and grist mill for the accommodation of the inhabit- ants.' A ferry was also soon after established leading from the upper roll way across to the head of Water street descending to the river from the old Folsom house, on the south side of the falls. The old road followed the course of the ravine leading from the canal basin to Park street. This ferry was continued with little interruption up to the close of the century. The first ferry house was a log building on the south side of the river, and on its bank a few rods above the dam, and was occupied by one of the Parks family. The cellar is even now visible. The house was burnt during the Revolution. The second, which was in use subsequent to the Revolution was built on this side ^ To the lionorable proprietors and owners of Queensbury township in Albany county, your humble petitioner showeth : That Abraham Wing, late of Dutchess coimty, now resident in the above said township have at a great cost and charge built mills in and on a small tract of undivided land in the above said township to the great encouragement for settling ye above lands which is and must be an advantage to the owners. Wherefore in consideration for such cost and encouragement, I desire ye owners of said lands on which the mills stand will convey the same to me as is under- written, etc. This indenture made this seventh day of March in the year of our Lord one thou- sand seven hundred and sixty-six by and between we the subscribers of the one part, and Abraham Wing late of Dutchess county, now resident in Queensbury township, Albany county and province of New York of the other part witnesseth, that we the subscribers for divers good causes and considerations us hereunto moving, the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge have granted, bargained, quitclaimed and confirmed, and by these present do grant, bargain, quitclaim, alien, and confinu unto the said Abraham Wing his heirs and assigns forever, all the right, title, interest, claim and demand that we now have, ever had, or ought to have in that certain tract or parcel of undivided land in the township of Queens- bury in Albany county and province above said situate lying on the Great falls by Hudson's river in the above township, bounded to the east by lands of Nathaniel HARDSHIPS AND LUXURY. 379 the river near the rollway. Its remains have been visible to a recent date. These various improvements again aroused the apprehensions of the Indians, and more especially the Mohawks, who entered a formal complaint and protest to Sir Wm. John- son, the superintendent of Indian aflairs for the northern pro- vinces. These claims were afterwards amicably adjusted, by purchase and an annual subsidy as elsewhere recorded. "While the first settlers here were encountering the hazards and hardships of a forest life, a different scene was being en- acted at a distance of less than 50 miles. Sir Wm. Johnson, resting from the fatigues and exertions of the famous Pontiac war, was entertaining in a style of baronial splendor never par- alleled on this side the Atlantic, a brilliant coterie of guests from the mother country, among whom were the Lady Susan O'Brien, eldest daughter of the Earl of Ilchester, with her hus- band, and Lord Adam Gordon, who afterward became com- mander-in-chief of the army in Scotland, and who on his return was accompanied by the baronet's son John, who was destined to fill so conspicuous a part in the border annals of the Revolution. Stevenson and William Haviland, to the north and west by lands of Abraham Wing, and to the south on Hudson's river, containing about thirty acres of land, be the same more or less ; and also all trees, wood, underwood, water, water-courses, profits, commodities, advantages, hereditaments whatsoever to the said messuage and undivided land above mentioned belonging or in any wise appertaining, and also the reversion and reversions of every part thereof, and also all our estate, right, title, interest, claim, and demand whatsoever to him the said Abraham Wing, his heirs and assigns forever, to have and to hold the above granted, bar- gained, and quit claimed premises above mentioned and every part thereof to the only proper use and behoof of the said Abraham Wing, his heirs and assigns for- ever. And we the subscribers for ourselves, our heirs and assigns will warrant and forever defend from any claiming from or under us by these presents. In witness whereof to these presents we have hereimto subscribed our names and affixed our seals the day and year above written. Benjamin Seelye, [L.S.] John Akin, [L.S.] Reed Ferriss, [L.S.] Nathaniel Stevenson. [L.S.] Jacob Havtland, [L.S.] William Haviland. [L.S.] Sealed and delivered in presence of Reed Ferriss, Matthew Franklin, Gains Talcott, Judah Handy, Jacob Hicks, Eliezer Ilerrick. 380 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. In 1766, on Tuesday, the 6th day of May, the first town meet- ing was held in the town of Queensbury, when the following ofiicers were chosen, viz : 1. Abraham Wing, Moderator. 2. Asaph Putnam, Town Clerk. 3. Abraham Wing, Supervisor. 4. Jeffrey Cowper, Assessor. 5. Ichabod Merritt, Assessor. 6. Asaph Putnam, Constable. 7. Ichabod Merritt, Collector. 8. Benajah Putnam, Pathmaster. 9. Truelove Butler, Poundkeeper. 10. Abraham Wing, Overseer of the Poor. 11. Caleb Powel, Overseer of the Poor. Eleven ofiices di- vided among seven male adults who manifestly composed the entire population of the town eligible to office ; and of these seven, only two were proprietors of the soil. THE FIRST RELIGIOUS SOCIETY. 381 CHAPTER VIII. First Religious Society — Permit for a Friend's Meeting — Second Town Meeting — Northern Forts placed in defensible Condi- tion — Charlotte County Erected — Its Boundaries — First Court Held — Settlement op Harrisena — Resident Indians — Early Improvements — Wing's Tavern ; and its scenes of Rev- elry — -Wolves and their Depredations — Project for the Erec- tion OF A NEW Province — Some Account of Major Skene. rlTH the single exception of Jeffrey Cooper, or Cow- per, as the name is variously written and printed, the first settlers of the town of Queensbury were members of the society of Friends, and as such, by reason of their peculiar religious tenets, necessarily precluded from participating in the hot partisan feeling, which, like the first groundswell presaging a storm, was even now surging up from the Atlantic seaboard to the hearts and homes of the American people. It may have been the prescience of the revolutionary contest which sent these pioneers into the shelter of the peaceful wil- derness, to avoid the contentions and struggles, the bitter pas- sions and intense animosities of civil war. If so, they came where the scourge fell with sharp and unmerited severity upon the non-combatants of these border towns. It is diflEicult to conjecture, and more so to realize, the emo- tions of those first settlers pushing out for the first from the surrounding of kindred and friends, the comforts and conve- niences of civilization, for a life long separation and isolation to endure the privations and dangers of the wilderness. After the settlement was fairly established, one of the first provisions of the settlers was the establishment and mainte- nance of religious services after the simple forms of the faith which had obtained in the Wing family and their Dutchess county neighbors, for the previous four generations. These services according to tradition were first held in the rude and humble dwelling of Abraham Wing the pioneer ; and afterward, in the first house of worship erected in town, namely the old 382 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. log Quaker church, built on the south side of the Half-way brook, on the west side of the Bay-road. The following is a copy of the first permit : "Minute of a monthly meeting held at Nine partners in Dutchess county and Province of New York the 19th of the 3d month, 1767.^ " At this meeting Abraham Wing on behalf of friends at Kingsbury 2 and Queensbury, (and by way of Oblong preparative meeting) requested liberty to hold a meeting for worship there once a week, and its allowed at present to be held each first day at twelve o'clock. And said Abraham Wing, and James McKenney are appointed to have some care and oversight thereof, and make report to this Monthly Meeting once in three months, or as often as they can, how the meeting is kept up and conducted, and what satisfaction they have in meeting together in that GREAT, and necessary duty. " True Copy, "Pr. Zebulon Ferriss, Clerk." It is stated on tradition, that at the time of the division and drawing of the town lots, one John Buck drew a lot now partly embraced within the limits of the corporation of Glen's Falls, and when the surveyors' bill was presented, being unable to meet his assessment, he sold or ofl:ered his interest for a peck of beans.^ The following is a copy of the town record for the year 1767 : " At the annual town meeting held in Queensbury on Tues- day, ye 5 day of May, 1767, for the township of Queensbury. 1 voted. Abraham Wiug, Moderator. 2 voted. Asaph Putnam, Town Clerk. 3 voted. Abraham Wing, Supervisor. 4 voted. Abraham Wing, and Asaph Putnam, Assessors. 5 voted. Asaph Putnam, Constable. 6 voted. Ichabod Merritt, Collector. 7 voted. Benager Putnam, Pathmaster. ■ From the Wing MSS. ' James Bradshaw and other petitioners for and settlers of the Kingsbury patent, were residents of Now Milford, in the colony of Connecticut, whence, also, some of the patentees, and first settlers of Queensbury also came. In both of these towns the Quaker element was originally very strong, and in the latter for many years predominant ; spreading hence to various parts of Warren county. ■' This statement is given on the authority of the late Ransom Jenkins, Esq. I TOWN RECORDS. 383 8 voted. Benjamiu Wiug, Poundkeeper. 9 voted. Abraham Wing, and Ichabod Merritt, Overseers of the Poor. 10 voted. Benjamin Wing and Phineas Babcock, Fence Viewers." Asaph Putnam, a new comer this year, lived in a small log dwelling near the residence of the late Roger Haviland, facing the head of South street on the road to the big dam. It will be seen that in 1767, the names of Jeffrey Cowper and Caleb Powel are dropped, and Benjamin Wing, the eldest son of Ab- raham Wing, is elected poundkeeper and fence viewer. Phineas Babcock is also elected another fence viewer. The other offi- cers nearly as before. This year the functions of the N. Y. assembly were suspended by act of parliament, in consequence of the refusal of that body to endorse the celebrated Mutiny Act. The temper of this patriotic body, already inflamed by the passage of the stamp act, as well as other obnoxious legislation, was not yet subdued to the point of cringing suppliance to tyranny, that in later years, made it the tool of parliamentary power. To sustain the foregoing act. Gen. Gage, commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in North America, proceeded to place the fortresses at the head of Lake George, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point in repair and supply them with suitable garrisons and muniments of war. If the peace loving Quakers of Queens- bury had been at all disposed to revolt, they must have been con- siderably overawed by these military preparations. The exact period of the erection of the grist mill ^ at the falls is not with certainty now known, but until its erection, the ' The following article of agreement found among the Wing MSS., was entered into between Abraham Wing of Queensbury and Daniel Jones of Fort Edward in 1770. It incidentally mentions the existence of a grist mill and saw mill at that date, and makes provision for the erection of a Dutch saw mill. " Articles of agreement indented and made this eleventh day of Oct., in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy, between Daniel Jones of Fort Edward, in the county of Albany of the one part, and Abraham Wing of Queensbury in the same county of the other part, as follows : " Whereas, the said Daniel Jones and Abraham Wing, are this day become joint owners and proprietors of a certain fall or stream of water and a saw mill with ten acres, two quarters and fifteen rods of ground adjoining the same with their appurtenances by deeds between them this day executed ; and, whereas it is pro- posed that the said Daniel Jones shall erect and build another saw mill little be- low the said saw mill there already standing, for the joint use and benefit of them the said Daniel Jones and Abraham Wiug their executors, adm'rs and assigns. 384 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. inhabitants of this as well as Bradshaw's township were depend- ent upon the mills at Stillwater for their supply of flour, the place being accessible partly by boat and partly by the old mili- tary road constructed ten or twelve years before. A few slight changes occurred from year to year in the choice of subordinate town officers, and with the gain in the population there was a corresponding increase in the number of officials. In the year 1769 Samuel Brownson ^ was elected as one of the fence viewers. In 1770 Job Wright was elected to several offi- ces and Ebenezer Fuller chosen poundkeeper. The names of " Now it is therefore covenanted and agreed between the said parties in manner following, and Imprimis. The said Daniel Jones doth hereby covenant promise and agree that he or his assigns shall and within the space of three months next after the date hereof in a good and workmanlike manner, well and substantially erect and build, or cause to be erected, built, set up and finished one saw mill called a Dutch saw mill (betweeen the said above mentioned saw mill and the grist mill of the said Abraham Wing) according to the draft or plan or scheme hereunto annexed and the said Daniel Jones does hereby covenant and agree to compose the said saw mill with wood, timber, boards, and other utensils at his own proper cost, charge and expense. " Secondly. The said parties do covenant and agree that when the said saw mill is once built and completed, that such saw mill with all its appurtenances shall be, and must be for the joint use and benefit of both the said parties, their execu- tors, administrators and assigns in like manner and on the same way as they now do use possess and enjoy the said saw mill already erected and standing as before mentioned. " Thirdly. And the said parties do hereby further covenant and agree that they themselves and their executors, adm'rs, and assigns shall and will from time to time and at all times hold and keep or cause to be holden and kept in good, pro- per and sufiicient repair the said two saw mills with their sluices, dam, and ap- purtenances at their equal and joint costs and expense. " Fourthly. The said Daniel Jones doth hereby covenant and agree that the said two saw mills shall not by his means or by the means or procurement of his exe- cutors, adm'rs, or assigns take away or consume so much water of the said stream as to prevent or hinder the grist mill of the said Abraham Wing from going and grinding. Lastly. For the true pur fo nuance of all and every the said covenants and articles, the said parties do hereby bind themselves to the other each their exe- cutors, adm'rs and assigns in the penalty of the sum of one thousand pounds law- ful money <^f New York. In witness whereof the said parties have hereunto set their hands and seals the year first above written. DaShel Jones, [l.s.] Abkaham Wing, [l.s.] Sealed and delivered in presence of us Chris. Yates, John Glen. The saw mill to be built in consequence of the foregoing agreement is to be forty-seven feet in length, eighteen feet in width, and to go with fourteen saws. ' It would appear from the following documents, occurring in the Wing MSS., that Brownson was a partner of Wing, and also very probably manager and over SUBDIVISION OF ALBANY COUNTY. 385 Benajah Putnam and Samuel Brownson were dropped. In 1771 Daniel Jones, who married a daughter of Abraham Wing and was a brother of David Jones to whom the celebrated Jane McCrea was affianced, was elected poundkeeper. He afterwards, during the revolutionary struggle, espoused the English cause and went to Canada. Benjamin Hix or Hicks, another son-in- law of Abraham Wing was this year elected as one of the as- sessors. In 1772 JSTehemiah Seelye was elected one of the assessors. His residence it is stated was on the site of the old Cornell place,^ at the junction of the East line and the Sandy Hill roads. He was the ancestor of the Seelye families now residing in the north part of the town. At this election Ichabod Merritt and Jacob Hix were chosen firemen, which may with great propriety be looked upon as the first organization of a fire department in this town. During this year, Albany county was subdivided; that por- tion which included all the colonial settlements to the west and south-west of Schenectady was set off under the name of Tryon county, so named in honor of "William Tryon, then go- vernor of the province. Charlotte county was set off the 12th of March, 1772, and embraced all the territory now comprised in Washington, Warren, Essex and Clinton counties in ISTew York, and part of Bennington, Rutland, Addison, Chittenden and Franklin counties, Vermont.^ It was so named in honor seer of the mills. This paper also detehnines the existence of a grist mill here at that early date. " Queensbury the 4th day of February, 1771. We the subscribers have this day settled all our accoimts on book excepting the saw mill and grist mill affairs and there remains due to Abraham Wing to balance book account, nine pounds, fifteen shillings York currency as witness our hands." Samuel Brownson, Abraham Wing. Witness Asaph Putnam, Job Wright. ' One of the Montee brothers has recently erected a fine residence on this site. " Its more strictly defined boundaries (vide TJiompson's Vermont, part n, p. 20), were as follows : North by the Canada line. East by the western boundaries of Gloucester and Cumberland counties (which followed mainly the trend of the summit ridge of the Green mountains) ; to the north line of Sunderland and Arlington, Vt., and thence following the Battenkill to its confluence witli the Hudson river. The latter stream constituted its western boundary to its source, and thence due north to the Canada border, the place of beginning. 49 386 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. of the Princess Charlotte of Meckleuburgh Strelitz, the consort of King George the III. A considerable strife ensued for the location of the county seat. Lord Dunmore, who was interested in a tract on the east side of Lake Champlain in the vicinity of Crown Point, offered to erect the public buildings free of cost to the county, if the legis- lature should pay him the compliment of fixing upon his land for the court house to stand upon. A strongly signed petition from the inhabitants of Socialborough (now Clarendon, Vt.), and vicinity urged its claims for this distinction. But the strongest, and most energetic eifort was made in behalf of the large and prosperous settlement of Skenesborough, (now Whitehall), at the head of Lake Champlain. One appli- cation to Gov. DeLancey for this purpose, in which it provided that Major Skene (a) should furnish in fee simple a tract of ground for public use was accompanied by the names of 281 (a) Phelip Skene was tlie grandson of John Skene, of Halyards, in Fifesliire, Scotland, and a descendant of the famous William Wallace. He entered the army in 1739, in which year he served in the expedition against Portobello, and in 1741, was at the taking of Carthageua. He fought in the celebrated battle of Fontenoy, in 1745, in that of Culloden, the following year, and in 1747, was present at the battle of Laffeldt, imder the Duke of Cumberland. He came to America in 1756, and on the 2d of February, 1757, was promoted to a company in the 37th or Inniskillen Regiment of foot, which formed part of the force under Lord Loudon's command that year ; was next en- gaged under Lord Howe, at the unfortunate attack on Ticouderoga, in July, 1758, on which occasion he was wounded, and was appointed, on the 31st of July, 1759, major of brigade by General Amherst. In October following, was left in charge of Crown Point, the works of which he had orders to strengthen. His position at Crown Point made him familiar with the surrounding country, and encouraged by General Amherst, he projected a settlement at Wood creek, and South bay, at the head of Lake Champlain, and in the promotion of that design, soon after settled about thirty families there; in 1762, he was ordered on the expedition against Martinico and Havana, and was one of the first to enter the breach on the storming of Moro Castle. On his return to New York, in 1763, he renewed his efforts to complete liis settle- ment at Wood creek ; went to England ; obtained a royal order for a con- Biderable tract of land at that place, for which a patent was granted March, 1765, and it was formed into a township under the name of Skenesborough. His regi- ment having been ordered to Ireland, Major Skene exchanged into the 10th foot in May, 1768, so as to remain in America ; but he did not continue long in the army, for he sold out in December of the following year, and in 1770, estab- lished his residence at Skenesborough, now Whitehall, Washington county. Here he erected forges for smelting iron, mills for sawing timber, and opened a . road to Salem and Bennington, which was afterwards known as Skene's road. His plans were interrupted by the Revolution. In June, 1775, he was arrested at Philadelphia, and brought to New York, and thence taken to Hartford. He was CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 387 male petitioners, 71 of whom were tenants on Major Skene's estate.^ On the 18th of March, 1772, an act passed the legislative council " to enable the inhabitants of the county of Charlotte to raise and defray the public and necessary charges of the said county, and to choose county officers." ^ On the 8th of September, 1773, an ordinance was issued by the governor with the advice of the council, " establishing a court of common pleas, and a court of general sessions of the peace to be held annually in the county of Charlotte, at the house of Patrick Smith, Esquire, near Fort Edward, on the third Tuesday in the months of October and May.^ The first court in the county was held at the house of Patrick Smith, in the village of Fort Edward, October 19th, 1773. The presiding judges were William Duer and Philip Schuyler, both of whom espoused the cause of liberty in the revolutionary struggle and held conspicuous positions in the councils of the young nation. The county clerk was Daniel McCrea, a son of liberty, and a brother of Jane McCrea, whose name inspired many a heart and arm in the war so soon approaching. The assistant j ustices were Patrick Smith, Ebenezer Clark, Alexander McS^aughton and John Marsh. The following is a list of grand jurymen: Archibald Campbell, Michael Huffnail,^ Robert Gordon, Albert Baker, Daniel Watkins, Joseph McCracken, allowed to reside on parole at Middletown, Connecticut ; but in May, of the follow- ing year, on refusing to renew his parole was committed to prison. He was finally exchanged in October, 1776, when he was conveyed to the city of New York, whence he sailed in th& beginning of 1777, for England. He volunteered to ac- company Burgoyne the same year, and in August was ordered to attend Lieut. Col. Baume, in his secret expedition, which met a disastrous defeat at Bennington, at the hands of General Stark, on the 16th of that month. In this campaign Col. Skene had his horse twice shot under him, and was afterwards taken prisoner with Burgoyne's army. In 1779, he was attainted and his property confiscated by the legislature of New York. After the war Colonel Skene, 'tis said, came to this country during Governor Clinton's administration and tried to recover his pro- perty, but not succeeding went back to England where he lived in retirement, and died on the 9th of October, 1810, at an advanced age at Addersy Lodge, near Stoke Goldington Bucks. In the obituary notice he is styled : " formerly lieutenant go- vernor of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and surveyor of his Majesty's Woods and Forests, bordering on Lake Champlain." — Compiled from Gentleman's Magazine. 1 Doc. Hist. JSr. ¥., vol. iv, p. 818. ^Journal of the Legislative Council of New York, vol. ii, p. 1841. = Doc. Hist. N. T., vol. iv, p. 846. * Michael Huffnagle. A partner of Albert Baker, in the mills at Baker's falls, Sandy Hill. He afterwards, in the revolutionary war became a tory, and went to Canada. 388 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Joshua Conkey, Jeremiah Burrows, Levi Stockwell, Levi Crocker, Moses Martin, Alexander Gilchrist andDaniel Smith.^ Gen. Sir Wm. Johnson, Bart., reports this year to the secre- tary of state, that the militia of Charlotte county are as yet unorganized, and Gov. Tryon states in another official report that the county remains unrepresented in the colonial assembly. It is believed that Fort Edward remained the recognized county seat until after the Revolution. An old building now standing near the burial ground, at the lower part of that village, was, in the early part of the war the frequent scene of exciting dis- cussion by the committee of safety, and the noisy demonstra- tions of the young partisans of the new republic. In 1773 the town records of Queensbury exhibit the following addition to the list of officers, viz : David Buck, constable, and Benedict Brown, overseer of the poor. Benedict Brown, the ancestor of the Brown family or rather families of this town, probably emigrated with his family the previous season and commenced the first settlement at the outlet of the Long pond at the place now called the Butternut flats. The Long pond was then frequently called the French pond, and mills were built on its outlet at a very early period. JSTot far from this time also the Harrises and Braytons settled near the southern part of Fort Anne, then called the artillery patent, or the township of Weslfield, which also included that portion of the town of Queensbury now known as Harrisena. Nehemiah Seelye is supposed to be a relative of Benj. Seelye, one of the proprietors. In the year 1774 the name of Zachariah Butler appears on the town records as being elected to the office of pathmaster. From him the jiame of Butler's brook is said to be derived. During the Revolution he became a tory, buried his property in the vicinity of the brook and fled to Canada. After the termination of the war he returned and reclaimed his effects. During this early period of the settlement of the town, while the greater part of the township was yet an unbroken forest the inhabitants often experienced the greatest difficulty in obtaining a sufficient stock of food not only for themselves but for their cattle. They depended mainly for their supplies of hay from two large beaver meadows, one situated upon the Five-mile run, which thence obtained the name of the Meadow run, a portion of which is now visible from the plank road ; and the other, upon the out- ' Corey's Gazetteer of WasMngton County, pp. 1 aud 2. I r JOTTINGS OF EARY TIMES. 389 let of the Big Cedar swamp on the east side of the town that ran through great lot No. 3 which was owned by Reed Ferriss, and the stream, in consequence, came to be called Reed's Meadow creek. This stream runs south-east through Moss street, re- ceives as tribute the drainage of the great Kingsbury swamp and empties into the Hudson at Fort Edward, where it is called Fort Edward creek. Before the 'settlement of the country a frequently followed trail of the Indians was a portage of less than a mile in length between this stream near Moss street, and Wood creek leading past Fort Anne, the remainder of the route being made in their canoes. At this time, and long afterwards, the volume of this stream was such that saw mills were erected upon it at diiferent points, but the clearing up of the adjacent lands has diminished it to an insignificant rivulet. Several small Indian settlements, each occupied by a few families, who resorted here annually during the summer and autumn months for the purposes of hunting, fishing, and occa- sionally in the winter, for trapping, existed at Ilarrisena, Dun- ham's bay, at the outlet of the Long pond, at the Big bend, and at the foot of the Palmertown mountain on the south side of the river. They still claimed these woods and plains as their hunting grounds, and traditions are preserved in the Brown, Goss, Odell, and Moon families, of the amicable relations sub- sisting between these nomadic children of the forest, and the early settlers of the town, and the frequent interchange of courtesies and kindness between them. In the course of the first ten years after the commencement of the settlement, besides the mills, and other improvements already named, there were nearly, if not quite two dozen of narrow, blackened fallows, and scarred, stump dotted clearings, each containing its log house, and humble betterments. Among these, of whose location we have been certified, are the Benny Wing place, on the site of the Piatt farm house, and that of William Wing at the Geer place.^ There were also three or four rough, corduroyed, wilderness roads, one leading to the Ridge, another toward Dunham's bay, one across by the Outlet, from the upper picket fort to Ilarrisena, and thence on tc^Fort Ann, the old grass grown military highway from Fort Edward to the head of the lake, which has been so often mentioned, 1 From tlxe late Mrs. Alfred Ferriss. 390 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. and a cross road extending along the north line of the town plot. Besides these were a bridle path through the plains to the Big bend, and the old, deeply trodden Indian trail, opening to the ford at the Morgan place, and leading along the east side of the towD, connecting Wood creek to the outlet of the Big Cedar swamp. This carrying place was called in the aboriginal tongue by the euphonious name Kiugiaquahtonec. At a very early period in the annals of the township, and it is believed anterior to the Revolution, a log dwelling of con- siderable dimensions was erected on or near the site of the store now owned and occupied by D. H. Cowles & Co., on the corner of Ridge and Warren streets. This was originally occupied by Abraham Wing, for the purpose of a store and inn, where the few straggling way- farers which the love for adventure, the hunt for game and peltry, or traffic with the natives, may have drawn from the more civilized regions at the south found such accommoda- tions for man and beast, as a new, and sparsely settled, but always hospitable neighborhood could atford. Many years since, it was observed that a particular place on the side walk between Cowles's corner and the Traphagan block, became dry after a storm, or during the mud and frosts of the spring season, sooner than elsewhere. Digging down upon this spot, when the store was rebuilt about the year 1853, revealed the existence of an old well, the mouth of which, six inches below the surface, was covered by a flat stone, and the well itself thoroughly walled from the bottom. Recalled to mind by some of the oldest in- habitants, it was spoken of, as having been used for the accom- modation of the early settlers at the Corners, and as having fur- nished very clear, pure, and cold water. Here according to the Wing papers, hundreds of pounds worth of liquor of various kinds were brought from Albany, Montreal, and on one occasion from N^ova Scotia. Here the Jessups, Hugh Munro, Capt. Bradshaw and the neighbors with but few exceptions, held high revel and ran up bar bills of lusty proportions.^ And hence from the location of this tavern the little settlement soon became known, in addition to its pro- per name of Quecnsbury patent, and its foster name of Wing's Falls, as Wing's Corners, and finally as The Corners. ' Hero too, according to tlie tradition of the Wing family, was held the entertain- nu;nt and revel which resulted in the loss of the children's birthright, the name of the i)lace, of which an account is given in the previous chapter. JOTTII^GS OF EARLY TIMES. ' 391 These improvements comprised the external evidences of human occupation. The rest of the town remained one expanse of wilderness, save where its grave monotony was broken by its many streams and ponds. The deer, moose, and elk still trooped in throngs through the forest glades, and wolves and catamounts still made night hideous with their startling howls and half human cry. It is related that one of the early settlers, with great care, cost, and trouble drove hither a small flock of sheep, and for security placed them over night in a log pen near his dwelling. The wolves contrived to force their heads through the crevices between the logs, and killed all but two of the inoffensive and helpless prisoners. The remaining two, my informant quaintly remarked, " were killed the next day to save them." Sheep culture in those days, needed something more than the stimulus of an agricultural society and show, with its prizes and commendations, to en- courage the introduction of rare and costly breeds ! During one winter of extreme severity, the snow being so deep that the cattle could not as usual be driven to the swamps to browse, the settlers were obliged to feed them with salted fish, trout and suckers, which had been caught in the fall and with which all of the streams about here then abounded. About this time a plan was concerted and a petition sent to England to erect all of the northern portion of New York and the western part of Vermont, or the Hampshire grants ^ as they were then called, into a separate jurisdiction or province, of which Philip K. Skene ^ was to be the governor, and Skenes- boro, now Whitehall, was to be the seat of government. What might have been the ultimate result of this well laid scheme can not now be easily predicted, as the breaking out of the re- volutionary war and the capture of Skene himself two years subsequently, put a summary end to his ambitious machinations. His property and estates were confiscated at the close of the war. ' The claim of New HampsMre it is understood, extended to the bead of Lake George, and included the eastern half of the town of Queensbury, although so far as known no patents were issued, or any territorial jurisdiction assumed. — Letter to the author from Judge Hay. ^ " In 1761, Philip Skene, an English major under half pay, who had been with Amherst in 1759, established a large colony near the mouth of Wood creek. In the autumn he accompanied an exi)edition against Havana, and on liis return, in 1763, found the settlement reduced to fifteen persons. He immediately set about re- 392 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. While the Wiugs and the Merritts, the Joneses, Browns, Put- nams, Seeljes, and other families were toiling in their wilder- ness seclusion, events were rapidly approaching that crisis which ended in severing the ties that bound the colonies to the mother country. Organized bands of the Sons of Liberty were striking terror to the officials of the British government in every city along the seaboard. Within thirty miles of the settlement, at the east, the authorities of IS'ew York and New Hampshire were at open variance and collision for territorial supremacy. Benniug Wentworth, the governor of N'ew Hampshire, without the least show of justice or title, having issued no less than 138 patents to lands within the jurisdiction of ISTew York, an embittered state of feeling ensued which did not terminate until years after the close of the Revolution, when the disputed territory was erected into a sovereign and independent state. How much or little the sturdy Friends of Queensbury were disturbed by these questions, tidings of which were borne on to them from time to time by their relatives from Old Dutchess, it is now difficult to say. The time was fast approaching, however, when the seclu- sion of the wilderness afforded no protection to opinions, and the most insignificant were forced to a decision in that first great struggle for our nationality. establishing the colony, and in 1765, obtained patents for twenty- five thousand acres of land lying on and near the creek. Here he built a stone mansion forty feet by thirty, and two stories and a half in height. In 1770, he erected a large stone building one hundred and thirty feet long, which was used for a military garrison and depot. He also built at tliis place a stone forge of about the same dimen- sions as his house, where he commenced the manufacture of iron. Tliis was the first forge erected on the borders of the lake. Skene owned a slooi>, with which he kept up a regular communication with Canada, and at his own expense he cut a road through the wilderness as far as Salem, a distance of about thirty miles, from which point it was continued by others to Bennington. This road was used during the season when the navigation on the lake was closed by ice. In 1773, Skenes- borough contained a population of 379." — Palmer's Histoi-y of Lake CMmplain, p. 95. NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANT CONTROVERSY. 393 CHAPTER IX. The New Hampshire Grant Controversy — The First Continental Congress — The Patriotic Sentiment op this Neighborhood — The Seizure op the Forts at Ticonderoga, Crown Point and the Head op Lake George — Narrative op Captain Nordberg — Bernard Romans and Daniel Parke — Meeting op the Pro- vincial Congress at Albany — Disturbances at Fort Edward. )T is scarcely to be expected iu the history of a town- ship, that a full resume will be give a of the transac- tions and events which contribute to make up the annals of a nation. It will be proper, however, and quite legitimate to the purposes of this narrative, to bear in mind some of the leading events which ushered in the Revolu- tion, as being among the causes which retarded the growth of the settlement, and ultimately resulted in the entire depopula- tion of the patent; with the destruction of nearly all its improve- ments. As previously stated, the colonial controversy relating to the Hampshire grants, the disputed territory of which, extending to the southern extremity of Lake George,^ had long kept the eastern settlements of New York in a condition of ferment and feverish excitement. Stories of the brutal application of the ' This assertion is made on the authority of the late Judo^e Hay. A reference to the documents relating to this famous controversy, contained in the fourth volume of the Documentary History of N. T., shows that the province of New York, holding jurisdiction under a charter and letters patent granted by King Charles the Second to his brother James, the Duke of York, bearing date the 12th of March, 1663-4 [0. S.], and 29th June, 1674, had the Connecticut river specifically designated as the eastern boundary of said province of New York. Afterward, difficulties having arisen by reason of the imperfect geographical knowledge of the day between that province and the colonies of Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay, joint commissioners were at different times appointed to adjust and determine the boundaries between these several provinces, by whom a line parallel to and twenty miles east of the Hudson river was agreed upon as the determinate bounds of their respective j urisdictions. The New Hampshire patent issued by George the Second, July 3d, 1741, defines its western limits to extend to his majesty's other governments. Presuming, with- out the least letter of justice or show of equity, upon the claims of Massachusetts 50 394 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. beech 8eal to certain officials of Albany county, beneath the grim shadows of the Green mountains helped to keep alive a feeling of insecurity all along the line of scattered hamlets to the north of Albany. The air was filled with rumors of approach- ing political disruptions. Already had the prototype of the continental congress held its session at Philadelphia.* Sons of Liberty had commenced their overt and daring acts of hostility to the crown officials.^ The patriotic associations of New and Connecticut, " that New Hampshire had an equal right to claim the same extent of western boundaries with those charter governments," ^ Gov. Wentworth pro- ceeded to issue patents and plant colonies upon this debatable ground ; which were, for twenty-five years or more, the fruitful source of acrimonious controversy, and atrocious, lawless outrages, the aggressors and perpetrators being in a large proportion of instances the inhabitants of the grants issued by Wentworth, and known as the Green Mountain boys. The line twenty miles east of the Hudson river following its curves and bends would intersect the eastern portion of the town and strike the southern extremity of Lake George at or near Dunham's bay. The following is an extract from an order in council made at the court of -St. James, the 20th day of July, 1764, fixing the boundary between New York and New Hampshire. * * * "His majesty taking the same into consideration was pleased with the advice of his privy council to approve of what is therein pro- posed, and doth accordingly hereby order and declare the western banks of the river Connecticut, from where it enters the province of the Massachusett's Bay as far north as the forty-fifth degree of northern latitude, to be the boundary line between the said two provinces of New Hampshire and New York. " — Doc. Hist. ofN. T., vol. IV, p. 574. * Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, on the morning of Friday, the 17th of June, 1774, proposed in the presence of 129 colleagues of the general assembly, a conti- nental or general convention of delegates representatives from the different colonies to be held at Philadelphia on the first of September then next ensuing. In pursuance of this resolution the delegates convened at Carpenter's hall in Philadelphia on Monday the 5th of September. *****" This congress consisted of fifty -one delegates, representing twelve of the colonies Ij^ug along the shore of the Atlantic, from New Hampshire to South Carolina inclusive ; the greatest number of delegates for any one colony being seven, and the smallest two. But this disparity in the number of delegates did not affect the votes, as it was agreed that each colony should have but one vote, whatever was the number of its dele-' gates. Tlie congress sat with their doors locked, no one was permitted to be pre- sent at their deliberations, and all their proceedings, except those which they thought fit to publish, were kept profoundly secret." — Stedman'a Hist, of the American War, vol. i, p. 102. * The first liberty pole erected in the Mohawk valley Avas set up at the German Flats, in the early part of the year, which Alexander White, tlie tory sheriff of Tryon county, assisted by a party of loyalists cut down. So strong was the popular indignation against him, in consequence, that he was obliged to flee. Accompanied by a white man named Peter Bone, and two or three Indians, lie made a push for the Canada border, but was overtaken at Jissuji's landing on the Hudson river, the house where he had taken lodgings surrounded, and the fugitive sheriff taken 1 Letter of Gov. Benning Weutworth to Gov. Cliuton, April 25th, 1750. I EVENTS PRECEDING THE REVOLUTION. 395 York city and other sea board towns, found their counterpart on the frontiers ; and from the time of the stamp act riots, occasional gatherings of whigs assembled at Fort Edward among whom were numbered such representative and influential names as the Bradshaw, Moss, Baker, and High families of Kings- bury ; the Bitleys, Sherwoods, and Durkees, of Fort Edward, the Paynes, Parkes and McCreas of the'yet unnamed district on the west side of the Hudson ; so that when the beacon fires of the Revolution burst forth, the lines of political opinion vvere sharply drawn and defined, and, it was known at the outset, through a wide range of neighborhood, who were the friends, as well as foes of the general opposition to and uprising against British misrule. Of the various events standing prominently forth in the history of the times, none was more certainly thoroughly assured and prearranged than the capture of the old French fortress of Carillon, at Ticonderoga. This is so intimately associated with the subsequent seizure of Fort George, that, for a proper under- standing of that afiair, a brief narration of the circumstances which led to the former cannot with propriety be omitted. .Prior to the commencement of hostilities, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren, as members of the committee of cor- respondence in Boston, sent an agent privately to Canada, to ascertain the feelings of the people of that province in regard to the approaching contest, and to report the result of his ob- servations.^ This agent sent back intelligence from Montreal, and among other suggestions, advised that by all means the garrison at Ticonderoga should be seized as quickly as possible after the breaking out of hostilities, adding that the people of the l^ew Hampshire grants had agreed to undertake the task and that captive, and conveyed to Albany where he was imi^risoned — Vide Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i, p. 106-7. Tradition states that one of the Jessiips escaped beinw taken prisoner, by jump- ing across the Hudson river, at the narrow gorge just above the Big falls. Men- tion is made in the 1st vol. Revolutionary Papers of the arrest of Sheriff White with three white men and three Indians at Gilliland's, in what is now Essex county. Whether this refers to the same affair, or is the record of another arrest there is no means within the author's reach, of determining. 'Of the activity of the revolutionists, something may be judged from the fact that " a correspondence was opened through Mr. Kirkland, even with the Mohawks, by the provincial congress of Massachusetts, before the affair of Lex-- ington and Concord." — Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i, p. 55. 396 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEEI^BTJRT. they were the mo^^t proper persons to be employed in it. This hint was given three weeks before the battle of Lexington. The aflair at the last named place occurred on the 19th of April, 1775. Eight days after that event, several gentlemen who were in attendance upon the general assembly at Hartford, concerted a plan for the capture of Ticonderoga. Benedict Arnold's coihmission is from the committee of safety at Cambridge, Mass., and bears date May 3d, 1775. It con- ferred upon him the title of colonel and commander-in-chief of an expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. In a communication to the printer, of nearly the same date, it is claimed for Col. Arnold, that on his march to Cambridge in April last, he concerted a plan for the capture of Ticonderoga^ and Crown Point, which he first communicated to a member of the committee for correspondence for Connecticut, and after- wards by letter to the governor of the province ; and after his arrival at Cambridge to the provincial congress and committee of safety.^ From the authority just quoted,^ we derive the additional information that on the 4th of May, a gentleman in Pittsfield, Mass., wrote to an officer then on duty at Cambridge, stating substantially that the plan for the capture had been concerted by the governor and council at Hartford, Conn., the preceding Saturday, and that Col. Hancock and Mr. Adams, with others from the province of Massachusetts, were present, and parti- cipated in the deliberations. Three hundred pounds were drawn out of the state treasury to defray the expenses of the expedi- tion, which sum was committed to those gentlemen that were here. The letter also states that a number of gentlemen from Connecticut, went from Pittsfield last Tuesday morning, having been joined by Col. Easton, Capt. Dickenson, and Mr. John Brown (a young lawyer of great promise), with forty soldiers (from Berkshire), in an expedition against Ticonderoga and 1 An idea of the dilapidated condition of the barracks at this point may be derived from the fact that on the 29th of Sept., 1773, Gov. Tryon desiring Gen. Haldimand to station 200 men at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, as a protection against the New Hampshire rioters, the latter reports that the state of the buildings at those places is such, that they can't give cover in winter to more than fifty men. — Doc. Hist. N. ¥., vol. IV, p. 855. * Force's American Archives, Fourth series, vol. ii, p. 1087. ' Idem, p. 507. This was Col. John Brown, for whom a few recent writers, with very little grounds, claim all the credit of this expedition. SEIZURE OP FORTS. 397 Crown Point, expecting to be reinforced by one tbousand men from the grants above, a messenger having been previously dis- patched to inform Col. Ethan Allen of the design, and desiring him to hold his Green mountain boys in readiness. In a letter from Capt. Edward Mott ^ to the Massachusetts congress, dated Old Shoreham, 11th May, 1775, in which he states that " a number of the principal gentlemen of the assembly at iSartford, on Friday the 28th of April conversing on the dis- tressed condition of the country, fell on the scheme of to take the fortress [Ticonderoga.] I told the gentlemen it might be taken by surprise with few men if properly conducted, on which, they desired me, if I was willing to serve my country in that way, to join Capt. JSToah Phelps of Simesbury, and Mr. Bernard Romans («) on that design, and furnished us three hundred pounds in cash from the treasury.^ The result of this enterprise is (a) Bernard Romans was a native of Holland, and removed early in life to Eng- land, where lie studied the profession of engineer. He was employed in that capacity, in the southern colonies previous to the Revolution, and was a resident of Florida, from 1763 to 1773. Previous to his employment by the state of New York, he had a pension of fifty pounds from the British government as botanist of Florida, and published in 1775, a volume on the natural history of that province. In that year he was employed by the N. Y. committee of safety, to construct defences in the Highlands, with a salary equal to the pay of a colonel. In October following he was superseded. On the 8th of February, 1776, he was commissioned captain of a company of Pennsylvania artillery, destined for the invasion of Canada as part of the northern army. In May, 1776, he was sent back from Canada to be tried for misconduct, and on the 27th July, he was again tried for some difficulty with his lieutenant. It is to be presumed that he was honorably acquitted on these occasions, for in November he was deputed by General Gates to inspect the works at Fort Ann and Skenes- boro : In 1778 and 1783, he published at Hartford his Annals of the Troubles in the Netherlands, 3 vols., and in 1779, published in England with Capt. de Brahm a Compleat Pilot for the Gulf Passage. He married 38th January, 1779, Elizabeth Whiting, of Wethersfield, Conn., and continued in the service as an officer until 1780, when he was ordered to South Carolina. On his passage thither the vessel and all on board were captured by the British, and carried to Jamaica, where he was held in captivity until the peace of 1783. He is said to have died on his re- turn passage to this country, though it was the opinion of his friends that he was murdered. He left behind him a high character as a professional man, and an author. — Note by J. Munsell to Ruttenher's Obstructions to the Hudson River. ' James Easton. Epap. Bull, Edward Mott, and Noah Phelps, in a letter dated at Ticonderoga, 10th May, 1775, state that they are a committee sent from the colony of Connecticut, furnished with money for the purpose of reducing and garrisoning said fort. — Force's Am. Archives, Fourth series, vol. ii, p. 556. "^Force's American Archives, Fourth series, vol. ii, p. 558. Thus much by way of showing the estimated importance of these frontier posts, both of which accord- ing to the same authority were much out of repair, and in ruins, and how their 398 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. familiar history to the world. The Pittsfield expedition joining forces at Bennington with Allen and his Green mountain boys they proceeded with celerity and captured the renowned fortress early on the morning of May 10th. The following curious version of the affair is given by Sted- man.^ " A volunteer, of the name of Ethan Allen, assembled, of his own accord, about fifty men, and proceeded immediately to the environs of the first mentioned fortress [Ticonderoga], commanded by Captain de la Place of the twenty-sixth regi- ment, who had under his command about sixty men. "Allen, who had often been at Ticonderoga, observed a com- plete want of discipline in the garrison, and that they even carried their supine negligence to the length of never shutting the gates. Having disposed his small force in the woods, he went to Capt De la Place, with whom he was well acquainted, and prevailed on him to lend him twenty men, for the pretended purpose of assisting him in transporting goods across the lake. These men he contrived to make drunk ; and, on the approach of night, drawing his own people from their ambuscade he ad- vanced to the garrison, of which he immediately made himself master. As there was not one person awake, though there was a sentry at the gate, they were all taken prisoners." After the close of the French war, or at least as early as the year 1767, the fort at the head of Lake George was partially dismantled, and abandoned as a military post ; the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point being of more massive character, were considered an adequate protection on a frontier no longer threatened by the annual incursion of the savages. At the time of which we write, the only occupants of this post, were a retired invalid officer of the British army, Captain John ISTordberg and two men supposed also to have belonged to the army, and who were possibly pensioners of the crown. There are reasons for supposing that one of these was John McComb, and the other Hugh McAuley whose name subsequently appears in the town records, and who was the ancestor of the McAuley family of this town. capture became the simultaneous subject of consideration, and object of efforts by various parties, legislators, statesmen, and military adventurers. It also accounts for tlu! subscMjueut strife for supremacy in tlie command, and for the final joint advance of Allen and Arnold side by side past the celebrated postern gate, through the covered way, and out upon the parade groimd together. ' Jlintory of the American War, vol. i, p. 131. TRANSPORTATION. 399 - Their duties seem to have been the supervision and care of the fortifications and buildings at that point, and to lend such assistance as might be needed in forwarding messages, the transmission of intelligence, and the expediting of expresses between Albany and Montreal. A person by the name of John Sparding or Sparden resided at the lower end of the lake, who in addition to like duties had the charge and care of a saw mill, on the outlet of Lake George. On the first of June, 1775, he petitioned congress for the pay- ment of seventeen pounds on a verbal agreement with Col. Arnold for services in transporting troops, etc., through Lake George, and over the carrying place. In this petition he stated that for upwards of six years past, he had provided boats and carriages to convey persons over the Lake [George] and carrying place, and batteaux on Lake Champlain for the convenience of travelers going to Canada. He adds, that his business is entirely arrested by the existing troubles since the 10th of May, the day on which Fort Ticonderoga was taken.' While the events just recorded were in progress, Capt. Herri ck of Connecticut, was instructed to proceed with his company con- sisting of thirty men to Skenesborough at the southern ex- tremity of Lake Champlain ; and there taking possession of whatever stores and munitions of war might be found, to pro- ceed down the lake and cooperate with the forces at Ticon- deroga. In the execution of this plan, Herrick succeeded in completely surprising the little settlement, making a prisoner of Major Skene, (afterwards referred to by Gov. Tryou as Colonel Skene), with twelve negroes, and about fifty leaseholders or tenants on the Skene patent. In addition to a very considera- ble supply of military stores, a schooner and several smaller boats were seized, and all were forwarded immediately to Ticonderoga. These were a valuable acquisition to the infant > Force's American Archives, fourth series, vol. ii, p. 747. In a communication to the New York congress, May 29th, 1775, Arnold enumerates several wants among which are two flat bottomed boats, to be built at Fort George, forty feet long, twelve feet wide and four deep, with strong knees, well timbered and of four inch plank. " These may be built at Sparden 's, where there is timber and a saw-mill handy." * * * * Four pairs of strong wheels wanted at Fort George, ten good teams, of four yoke of oxen each, to take up provisions and take down cannon. * * * * Signed, Benedict Arnold, colonel and commandant at, Ticonderoga. — Id. 400 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. army of the republic, and afterward contributed to the capture of the small British force on the lake. Among the military personages to whom the emergencies of the hour gave special prominence, was Colonel Bernard Romans, who at this juncture appeared in Connecticut, and ardently es- poused the cause of the revolutionists. He was a soldier by training, a gentleman by birth and culture, and an accomplished scholar. He was present at Hartford on the 28th of April, 1775, when the plan was framed for the capture of Fort Ticon- deroga. He and the other gentlemen concerned in the expe- dition set forward in different parties, and it is presumed by different routes. Whether he accompanied Capt. Herrick's party ^ from Castleton across to Skeuesborough, or came directly up the river to Fort Edward does not appear, the record only showing that he took possession of Fort George on the 12th of May, as shown by the following petition. Captain J^ordberg («) to the I^ew York Provincial Congress. " The most respectable Gentlemen Provincial Congress in New York. I beg leave to represent to the most respectable con- gress this circumstance* I am a native of Sweden, and have been persecuted for that I have been against the French faction there. I have been in his Brittannick Majesty's service since January, 1758. I have been twice shot through my body here last war in America, and I am now 55 years old, reduced of age, wounds, and gravels, which may be seen by Doctor Jones certificate. [In] 1773, I got permission in Jamaica to go to London, where I petition to be an Invalid officer, but as a foreigner, I ' Herrick's party reached Castleton, accompanied by the Bennington delegation, on the 7tli of May. From this point he was despatched on his mission to Skenes- borough with thirty men. — Force's Am. Archives, fourth series, vol. ii, p. 557-8. (a) " John Nordbekg was appointed lieutenant in the 60th regiment, 28th July, 1758, and went on half pay at the peace of 17G3 ; he again joined the regiment 29th March, 1775. He remained a prisoner until December 15, 1775, when it ap- pearing to the provincial congress, that his health was in such a state as that tenderness and humanity demanded his going to Great Britain for the restoration of his impaired constitution, and that he had behaved with the strictest honor to- wards the inhabitants of the American colonies as a soldier and a gentleman, he was permitted, in token of their respect, to proceed to England with such of his eft'ects as he chose to remove, and the people were recommended not to interrupt him. ***** His name ajjpears in the Army List of 1774, for the last time." — Col. Documents, etc., vol. vni, p. 579. CAPTAIN NORDBERG'S PETITON. 401 could not enjoy a commission in England or Ereland. His Majesty was graciously pleased to give me the allowance for Fort George, 7 sliillings sterling per day, with liberty to live where I pleased in America, because the Fort has been abandoned this 8 year and only 2 men remain therefor to assist any express going between New York and Canada. I arrived here in New York last year in September, with intention to live in New York, as I heard nothing els than disharmony amongst Gentlemen which was not agreeable to my age, I resolved to go to Fort George, and live there in a little cottage as a Hermit where I was very happy for 6 months. The 12th of May last Mr, Romans ^ came and took possession of Fort George, Mr. Romans behaved very genteel and civil to me, I told tl'iat I did not belong to the army, and I maybe con- sidered as half pay officer or invalid, and convinced him that I was plagued with Gravell, Mr. Romatis gave me his passport to go to New Lebanon for to recover my health, and he told me that in regard to my age I may go Avhere I pleased. As I can't sell any bill for my subsistence, and I can't live upon wind and weather, I therefore beg and implore the most respectable Congress permission to go to England, and lentend to go to my native country. I could have gone away secret so well as some others have done, but I will not upon any account do such thing. I hope the most respectable will not do partially to refuse me, because Major Etherington, Captain Brown, Captain Kelly, which is in the army have been permitted to go to England, and it may happen they return here again on actual service, which old age and infirmities render me incapable oft". As it is the custom amongst the Christian Nations and the Turks, that they give subsistence to every Prisoner according to their rank, should the most respectable Congress have claim upon me to be a prisoner here, I hope they will give me my ' Col. Arnold, writing to the Massachusetts committee of safety from Crown Point, May 19th, 1775, states that his last of the 14th inst., was by Mr. Romans, via New Haven. lie sends a return of cannon and ordnance stores, captured at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. He adds that it is impossible to repair the old fort at Ticonderoga, in which opinion he is joined by Mr. Romans, who is esteemed an able engineer. — Force' s American Archives, fourth series, vol. ii, p. 645. Comparing this date with that of the seizure of Fort George it would appear that Romans made no long tarry at the latter place, but pushed forward to meet the party at Ticonderoga. 51 402 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBUEY. subsistence from the 12 Mav last, according to my rank as captain. I implore the favour of the most respectable Congress, answer. I have the honor to remain with great respect, Gentlemen, Your most obedt. servant, John Nordbehg. New- York, december, 1775." Tradition does not identify any of the residents of the Queens- bury patent as connected with the seizure of the post at the head of Lake George, but a legend in the Parke family, on the south side of the river, associates the name of their ancestor with this event.^ It is supposed that Col. Romans was despatched by the authorities of Connecticut to accompany the northern ex- jicdition in the capacitj' of an engineer. Whether concerted or otherwise, it is presumed that reaching Fort Edward, he learned the condition of the fort at the head of Lake George, and em- ploying Parke as an assistant or volunteer, in the enterprise, with probably some other kindred spirits as the tradition states at Fort Edward, they went forward and took possession of the post as herein related. It has been stated that although the early settlers of this town, with trifling exceptions, were non-combatants, and that, not- withstanding their religious belief forbade their espousing sides in the struggle for independence, yet their sympathies were mostly with the rebels. Small cause had they for any enthu- siastic regard either way, for they were unscrupulously plundered and robbed by both sides, though most frequently by the illy disciplined, irresponsible squads of soldiers belonging to the armies of congress, in transit between the military posts of the frontier. ' Across the river and nearly opposite the village of Sandy Hill, but quite a little distance from the bank of the stream in a sequestered nook, is a small burying' ground where many members of the Parke family are gathered. On one of the modest marble slabs here marking the resting place of the dead is one containing the following inscription, viz : In memory of DANIEL PARKS. who departed this life March the 3, 1818, aged 78, one of the veterans of the revoluibionary war, he was the man that took the key from the British officer at Lake George in 1775. REVOLUTIONARY EXCITEMENT. 403 The country was now fairly ablaze with the beacon lires of the Revolution. The eastern border towns of Charlotte county were the homes of the rebels who had taken forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Boston was environed by a rebel army. Com- mittees of safety were established in every district. Military companies suddenly sprung into being, minute men, and rangers were enrolled, old arms furbished up, new ones sought and pro- vided. A representative colonial assemblage convened at Albany, and on the 22d day of May was organized under the name of the provincial congress. From the minutes of its journal we learn that on the 24th of May, John Williams and William Marsh from Charlotte county, appeared with certificates that they had been duly appointed and were received as delegates thereto. As a curious fact attending the deliberations of this body, the form of oath administered to its members is appended herewith: '■*■ I do solemidy swear on the Holy Evangelists of Alraig-hty God, that I will at all times keep secret all such matters and things, as shall at any time be given in charge from the chair by order of this congress to be kept secret until leave shall be given from the chair, by order of this congress to reveal the same." To show the unsettled condition of alfairs in the county, in the month of June of this year William Duer,(rt) a gentleman (a) William Dueh was the son of John Duer one of the king's council for Antigua in the West Indies. He was born in England, 18th of March, 1747. He entered the British service in his IStli year as aid de camp to Lord Clive, fovernor general of India. On the death of his father he left the army and went to the West Indies to take possession of the estate left to him. In 17G8 he came to New York where he became acquainted with Lord Stirling, and Philip Schuyler and on the recommendation of the latter purchased a tract of land includiu"- tlie falls at Fort Miller (Washington co.), where he erected saw, grist and snuff mills and ultimately a powder mill. He also erected there a spacious mansion. He was soon after appointed colonel of militia, judge of the county court and held tliese offices until the Revolution. He was a member of the New York provincial congress, provincial convention, and was member of the committee of safety. Under the first constitution he was elected to the state senate, but before takin<>- his seat was chosen by the legislature a delegate to the continental congress. 37 July 1779, he married Catherine eldest daughter of Ld. Stirling. He resid(!d afterwards at Albany with his fatlier-in-law, who was appointed commissary general of the north- ern department, but afterwards removed to Fishkill, where he remained vvitli his family until 178;i, when he returned to New York city. He was secretary of the board of commissioners of the treasury, whicli office he held until the board was superseded by the treasury department. He was afterwards member of the N Y. legislature and after the adoption of the constitution, assistant secretary of the 404 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. of considerable prominence residing in the vicinity, wrote to the committee of safety, that certain lawless persons, mostly debtors, were assembling at Fort Edward to break up the courts of justice. Captain Edward Motte then en route with his company from Ticonderoga to Albany, fortunately happened along, and by his presence during the session of the court, prevented any further disturbance. The disaffected persons were mostly from the ISFew Hampshire Grants. A month later (July 15th), the same record states that Fort Edward was razed to the ground. By whom, or for what pur- pose, does not appear. By a letter addressed to the provincial congress, bearing date July 3d, respecting the defenses at the head of Lake George, it appears that Benjamin Hinman was then colonel and com- mandant of that post, and probably continued so for the re- mainder of the year, for so late as November 16th, mention is made of Capt. EK^azer Curtis, an old captain in Col. Hin- man's regiment, being stationed with his company at Fort Geori^e. treasury under Hamilton, in which office he continued until the government re- moved to Philadelphia. He became, next, president of a company for the manu- facture of woolen goods, which erected the first mill at Passaic falls, whence arose the present flourishing town of Patterson. At a later period he erected a cotton mill on the Bronx, Westchester co., which is believed to have been the first in this country. Having entered largely into speculations in public securities and the military tracts, he suffered heavy losses ; his property was sacrificed and he remained sometime without resources to support his family. He died 7 May, 1799, aged 52 years. — Knickerbocker Magazine, vol. xx, p. 95. ^^ay?<2>c^^ ^^/^^^ DISTRIBUTION OF TROOPS, 405 CHAPTER X. Campaigns of 1775-0 — Distribution op Troops in this Vicinity — Expedition to Canada — Appointment of Military and Civil Officers in Charlotte County — Appointment op a Commission TO VISIT Canada — .Town Records — The Jones Family — Flight of Sir John Johnson and his Retainers — Small Pox in the Army — Erection of Hospital at Lake George — Death of the Baron de Woedtke — Results op the Campaign — Threatened Invasion op Tories — Measures for Relief, and Disposition op Troops for the Winter. Celebration in honor of the capture of Ticonde- roga held by the vvhigs of the neighborhood, near the tavern in Kingsbury street, in the summer of 1775, resulted in a wrangle, a quarrel, and fight. A bonfire that had been built for the occasion, was scattered and extinguished by the infuriated tories, and the whigs in that part of the town were driven from their houses, whither few of them returned, until the defeat and surrender of Burgoyne's army made this region an insecure abiding place for hot headed loyalists, the few of whom still remaining, escaped with such eftects as they could carry, to Cnnadn. General Philip Schuyler assumed charge of the northern de- partment in the month of June.^ On the first of July his first returns announce the following distribution of forces in this vicinity. Of Colonel Benj. Hinman's regiment at Ticonderoga, 495; at Crown Point, 302; at the landing foot of Lake George, 102; and at Fort George at the head of that lake, 101; of the Massachusetts bay troops, at Ticonderoga, 40; at Crown Point, 109; and at Port George, 25; of the New York forces at the latter post, 205." In regard to the discipline maintained here, an idea may be gathered from the following extract of a letter from Schuyler to Gen. Washington dated July 18th, 1775. " About ' Col. Hininan who was at Ticonderoga with four hundred Connc^cticut troops in June, 1775, assumed the Calendar of N. Y. Hist. MSS. liev. Papers, vol. i, p. 148. 2 Idem., p. 100. Sealy and Harris are supposed to have been residents of Queensbury. THE BURDENS OF WAR. 409 the burdens of war, in the way of depredations and unsatisfied requisitions, from wandering and irresponsible parties of soldiery. Paper No. 1. p]ndorsed, " Capt. Lammar's Account, and account of things his company stole." " 1776. Stolen, taken and carried out of my house, March 11th, by Capt. Lammar's company. £. s . d. One blue Broadcloath Jactcoat, at 2. — . One blue quilted petticoat, @ — . 14. One woolen checked shirt, @ One silk handkerchief, @ One pewter basin, @ 13 Dunghill fowls, @ One short stag goad @ — . 17^ 5. 4. 18. 4. Capt. Lammar, Dr. "" To one pleasure slay steel shod, painted green outside, red inside, which he carried away with him and never returned. £. 5. 2. £ 7. Abraham Wing. Paper No. 2. Containing Capt. Lamar's receipt, and Abraham Wing's affidavit in re- lation thereto. " I hereby certify that Mr. Abraham Wing's slay was hired for the use of my company from the 13th of March to the first of April, 1776, when the ice-breaking up, I was obliged to leave her in the care of Mr. Belton at Willsborough on Lake Champlain. " Marien Lamar Capt. 1, P. B." " I do most solemnly affirm that I never received the slay mentioned within, which was taken from me by Capt. Lamar for the use of the army, nor have I ever received any compensation for the same, or any other person whatever on my account, and that the slay was worth at that time in hard cash, seven pounds. "Washington] " Abraham Wing, County \ ■"6th March, 1786. " This day the above signed Abraham Wing appeared before me and affirmed to the truth, of the same. " Adiel Sherwood, Jus Pe." 52 410 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Paper No. 3. Being a military order and receipt for the delivery of certain property, on a requisition. " To Mr. Wyng : " Sir, Plese deliver that gang of saws to the bearer, to be forwarded to Chesyers,' and take his I'eceipt therefor, on the back of this order. " Fort George, July ye 18th. 1776. Nath'l Buell, Ast. D. Qr. Mr. Gen'l. Endorsement. July the 8th. Received the full contents of the within order, being 15 saws, with their stearups on. Receive pr. me. 1776. Eben'r Ashmun. At the suggestion of Gen. Schuyler, congress had appointed three commissioners, invested with power equivalent to ministers plenipotentiar}', instructed to proceed to Canada and negotiate with the authorities and people of that province. These commissioners w^ere of commanding eminence and con- sideration in the councils of the new republic, and much was expected from their influence and efforts, hopes speedily doomed to frustration and disappointment. Those commissioners were Dr. Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania, Samuel Chase and Charles Carroll, of Maryland. They were accompanied by John Carroll (brother of the commissioner), an eminent priest of the Roman Catholic church, afterwards first archbishop of Baltimore. Besides acting as interpreter to the commission, it was expected that the influence of this prelate would be potent and controlling with the large body of French Catholics in Canada to induce them to espouse the cause of the colonists. ' Chcsire's mill to whicli tlioso saws were removed, it is supposed was situated on Fort Edward creek in Kinofsbury. In a communication from General Gates to Gen. Waterbury dated Ticonderoga July lotli, 1776, he says, "if we make our stand at the place proposed, it is essential that the road from Chehdre's to Fort Edward be immediately repaired and rendered easy for carriages. * * — Force's American Archives, fifth series, vol. i, p. 358. " You will likewise post three companies of a regiment, with a field officer at Ghcsliire's mill." " Agreeably to your directions, I have ordered Captain Veeder and his company to the saw mill at Cheshire's." Richard Varick to Gen. Gates, Albany, Oct. 14, 177G. Idem, vol. ii, p. 1037. COMMISSIONERS TO CANADA. 411 The delegation left Philadelphia late in March, 1776. At Brunswick, N. J., they were joined by the Baron de Woedtke, a Prussian officer of distinction, formerly a major on the per- sonal staff of Frederic the great, and now seeking service in the American armies. At New York they were entertained by Brigadier General Stirling, who furnished a sloop for their con- veyance up the river. On their route they examined the various defenses along the Hudson, which were found to be quite in- adequate for safety and protection. On the 7th of April they landed at Albany, where they were met and entertained by Gen. Schuyler. Here Gen. Thomas was added to the party, and accompanied by their host and hostess they proceeded on the 9th to Fish Creek,^ where General Schuyler's country seat and residence was situated. Here, by reason of inclement weather the party made quite a halt. On the 16th, snow being still on the ground, the priest and commissioners departed for Fort Edward, which it is presumed they reached the same day. The two generals had already gone forward a day or two before. One of the party kept a journal from which, the following extract is made : " 18th. We set off for "Wing's tavern about twelve o'clock this day, and reached Fort George about two o'clock ; the dis- tance is about eight miles and a half; 3''ou cannot discover the lake until you come to the heights surrounding it, the descent from which to the lake i.s nearly a mile ; from these heights you have a beautiful view of the lake for fifteen miles down it." ^ The roads are spoken of as being in a most wretched con- dition, which considering the season of the year is not sur- prising. On the 19th, the ice still floating in the lake, they embarked in a strong batteau which had been prepared for them by the orders of General Schuyler, and in 36 hours they reached the lower end of the lake. The town record for 1776 exhibits but little change from the preceding year. The following is a transcript of the proceed- ings : "At an annual town meeting held in Queensbury on Tues- day ye 2nd day of May, 1776, for the township of Queensbury. 1. Voted. Abraham Wing, Moderator. 2. Voted. Asaph Putnam, Town Clerk. ' Now Schuylerville, N. Y. ^ Carroll's Journal, p. 49. 412 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. 3. Voted. 4. Voted. 5. Voted. 6. Voted. 7. Voted. 8. Voted. 9. Voted. 10. Voted. 11. Voted. 12. Voted. 13. Voted. 14. Voted. 15. Voted. 16. Voted. 17. Voted. Abraham Wing, Supervisor. Aeaph Putnam, Constable. Nebemiah Seal}^, Constable. Daniel Jones, Constable. Ebenezer Fuller, Constable. Nehemiah Sealy, and Benjamin Wing, As- sessors. Abraham Wing, Path Master. Benedict Brown, Path Master. Ichabod Merrittand Neliemiah Sealy, Overseers of the Poor. Benjamin Wing, Collector. Abraham Wing, Town Treasurer. Abraham Wing, Keeper of the Pound. Ichabod Merritt, and Asaph Putnam, viewers offence and prisers of damage. Abraham Wing, Asaph Putnam and Nehemiah Sealy, are appointed to enspect all persons that shall hunt the Deer in Queensbury, for the year ensuing. That any person that shall harbor or entertain or assist any person or persons from any County to hunt or kill any fawn, buck or deer in Queensbury, in ye year ensuing shall Forfeit and pay to the treasury the Sum of five Pounds." The Daniel Jones here mentioned and a sketch of whom is elsewhere given was a son-in-law of Abraham Wing, and a brother of David Jones, whose name has become historical from association with the Jane McCrea massacre. The brothers were mill-wrights, and Daniel as already shown was largely interested in the mills at this point. The family were among the earliest settlers of Kiiigsbury patent and owned large and valuable possessions in the north part of that town, which were afterwards sequestrated by the commission of forfeitures. Their house was for a short time made the head quarters of Burgoyne's army during the following year. Thus it will be seen that even among the peaeel'ul Friends of Queensbury the elements of discord were early sown, for while the elder Wing and James Higson, another son-in-law, ESCAPE OF SIR JOHN JOPINSON. 413 were undoubted patriots, the Jones family were loyalists to the bitter end, and their persuasions no doubt had great weight in influencing some of the younger scions of the family to take sides with the royal cause. None of the Wing or other leading families of the settlement at the Corners, ever took arms on either side. In the month of May, 1776,^ General Schuyler despatched Col. Dayton with a portion of his regiment to Johnstown, to arrest Sir John Johnson, who, it was alleged, had broken his parole. The latter, being notified of his danger by some Albany loyalists, took refuge in flight ; and with a large number of his dependents and retainers, made their escape down the valley of the Saeandaga to the Hudson, and thence up the west branch of that stream, skirting around the base of Crane's mountain through the town of Johnsburgh, and thence a due northerly course through the tangle of lake, forest, mountain, and stream now known as the Adirondac wilderness f and after nineteen days of severe toil, hardship, and suffering, reached the St. Lawrence river at a point considerably above Montreal, whence they made their escape into Canada, where they met with a cordial welcome, and received all needed assistance. He shortly after received a commission as colonel, and organized a regi- ment composed of his own followers, and tory refugees, with which the province was already swarming. It was at first called the Royal Greens, but it was afterwards famous in the annals of the border warfare of the period, as " the Johnson Greens." On the 7th of July, a council of general officers consisting of Schuyler, Gates, Sullivan, Arnold andWoedtke, pronounced the position at Crown Point insecure and untenable. Twenty- one inferior officers, among whom were Stark, Poor, and Max- well, remonstrated against this view. On the 12th of July, General Gates assumed the command of the northern army,^ making his head quarters at Ticon- ' Stone's Life of Brant (first edition), vol. i, p. 144. ^Lossinfif, in his Life of Selmyler, vol. i, p. 71, makes the route of Sir John's escape by the way of Schroou river and lake, but the local tradition of the in- habitants determines it as recorded in the text. ^ " The appointment of Gates to the command of this department, was from the first unacceptable to the officers of New York, nor was his own course conciliating towards them. In the course of the present summer, it was reported to Lieutenant Colonel Gansev(}ort, a brave, and deservedly popular officer belonging to the re- giment of Col. Van Schaick, and, then in command of Fort George, at the head of the lake of that name, that the general had spoken disrespectfully of that regi 414 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. deroga. His first attention was directed to the disposal and care of the hundreds of invalid troops then pouring back from Canada, the large proportion of whom were suifering from small pox,' In a communication from him to General Wash- ington, dated at Ticonderoga, July 28th, he says : " everything at)out this army is infected with the pestilence; the clothes, the blankets, the air, and the ground they walk upon. To put this evil from us, a general hospital is established at Fort George, where there are now between two and three thousand sick, and where every infected person is immediately sent. But this care and caution have not effectually destroyed the disease here ; it is, notwithstanding, continually breaking out." ^ A spacious building, known in later years as the long house, was at this time erected for the purposes of a hospital on the flat below the outworks of Fort George. In addition tents in considerable numbers, and temporary barracks were put up for the accommodation of the sick, who were daily transported hither from the overcrowded, and pestilential wards and barracks at the lower end of the lake. In a letter from Col. Trumbull, adjutant general of the northern department, to Col. Gansevoort on the 24th of July, he communicates the fact that a large hospital had been erected at the head of Lake George, where three thousand smallpox cases had been brought from our garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. This fearful pestilence, he alleges, was purposely introduced through private inoculation, by a villain calling him- self Doctor Barker.^ ment, and also of the regiments of Colonels Wynkoop and Fisher. His letters to Colonel (iansevoort were unnecessarily harsh and pragmatical, so much so as justly to give offence. Irritated by such treatment, Gansevoort wrote a spirited letter to Gates, referring to several matters in which he had been aggrieved by the letters and conversations of that officer. He requested a court of inquiry, and avowed his determination, with the leave of the general, to relincjuish the command of the post." — Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i, p. 162, note. On the 30th of July, Peter Gansevoort, in a letter to John McKesson, signs himself, " Lt. Colonel, com- manding Fort George." ' " The annals of disastrous war, scarce present a more deplorable picture than that exhibited by the Americans esca])ing from Canada. In addition to the snuill pox, the army had been afflicted by otlicr diseases, generated by exposure, desti- tution, and laxity of discipline. Fleets of boats came up the lake, freighted with the sick and dying ; and even those reported from day to day fit for duty, pre- sented but the appearance of a haggard skeleton of an army." — Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i, p. 1G4. "Force's Am. Arcldven, fifth series, vol. i, p. 050-1. 3 As the disease had already thoroughly pervaded the army in Canada ; making INSUFFICIENT MEDICAL SUPPLIES. 415 The large and extensive hospital at Lake George, was com- mitted to the charge of Dr. Jonathan Potts,* who subsequently held a coramandhig position in the medical ranks of the army, and who, according to the scant information at hand concerning him, was a gentleman of culture, eminent in his profession, and of good administrative ability.^ Under his management, the desperate condition of affairs at the head of the lake began to amend, and to take on habits of method and regularity. Notwithstanding the want of medicines and hospital supplies of which the doctor repeatedly complains in his reports and correspondence, the number of deaths is small as compared to the number of cases received. The following is a summary of the returns for the fortnight ending the 26th July. Admitted 1497. Discharged 439. Died 51. Deserted 3, Remaining 1004. Detailed as nurses 106. Total 1110.^ Dr. McCrea, surgeon in Van Schaick's Albany regiment is mentioned as being on duty during this period. Among those who died here at that time, was brigadier general, the Baron de Woedtke, whose remains repose in an unknown grave somewhere among the plains surrounding the moss grown ruins of Fort George. (a) Major Hubby of the baron's personal staff, made an inventory of his effects, and Col. De Haas of the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion, was appointed administrator of his estate. Among the patients at the hospital during this period was the afterward famous Gen. James Wilkinson ; who was stricken its appearance simultaneously at the southern forts on the lake ; and, as inocula- tion was the universal practice of the day, rigorously observed at all the military posts, it is difficult to comprehend at this distance of time, wherein Doctor Barker was specially to blame. He was arrested and sent to Albany. ' He petitions congress, 29th April, 1796, for appointment as director of hospital to be erected in Canada. — Force's Am. Archives, 4th series, vol. v, p. 1118. At this time Dr. John Morgan was director general of the hospitals. " Thursday, June 6th, 1776. In Continental Congress. " Resolved, That Dr. Jonatliaii Potts be employed as a physician and surgeon in the Canada Depart- ment, or at Lake George, as the general shall direct ; but that this api)oiutment shall not supersede Dr. Stringer." — Force's Am. Archives, fourth series, vol. v, p. 1118. ^ Idem, fifth series, vol. i, p. 857. (a)" The Bakon de Woedtke, mentioned above, had been for many years an officer in the army of the king of Prussia, and had risen to the rank of major. Coming to Philadelphia, with strong letters of recommendation to Dr. Franklin from per- sons of eminence in Paris he was appointed by congress a brigadier general on the 16th of March, and ordered to Canada. He died at Lake George about three weeks after the above council was held at Crown Point, (July 7th), and was buried with the honors due to his rank." — Spark's Life and Writings of Washington, vol. IV, p. 6, note. 416 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEEN SBURY. down with a typhus fever which " swept off" over one thousand of our troopsj" and notwithstanding the personal attendance of Doctor Jonathan Potts, the surgeon general, he says, I was con- signed to my grave and a coffin was prepared for my accommo- dation." He however recovered and survived to fill a con- spicuous place in the annals of the country.^ On the 18th of September, Major Carnes at Fort George, reports to General Gates that the pestilence is abating.^ The small pox had more than decimated the small force with which Arnold had held the English garrison of Quebec at bay. This now being strengthened by fresh auxiliaries and supplies, he was forced to retire from one stronghold to another, until the retreating column was finally intrenched at Ticonderoga. This retreat had been managed in a most masterly and skillful manner by Gen. Sullivan.^ The chain of disasters linked with this campaign, was supplemented by a triumph which seemed to give a seal of success to the British arms. The early summer months had been diligently employed by Gen. Carleton in the preparation of a powerful flotilla on Lake Champlain,^ which now seemed to have been summoned into existence as if by magic. Two spirited naval engagements succeeded on the 11th and 13th of October, which were fought with desperate bravery, but which resulted in the " defeat of Arnold, the annihilation of his flotilla, and the possession of the lake and Crown Point by the foe."' The rumors of a tory conspiracy in and about the Hellebe7'g, and a threatened invasion of the forts at the north, occasioned the recall of Col. Van Ness's regiment to Fort Edward this month,^ and the forwarding of recruits to Skenesboro and Fort George. For the same reason Col. Dayton's regiment had been previously ordered to Fort George without delay. 'See Wilkinson's Memoirs, vol. i, p. 86. ^Force's Am. Archives, fifth series, vol. i, p. 388. '" General Sullivan, with hia usual activity and alertness, collected together a debilitated, dispirited army, tried the strength of the enemy, who were at least four to one, and performed one of the most remarkable retreats that was ever known. No jjcrson who was not present can conceive a tenth part of the dillicul- ties attending it ; the enemy at our heels, 3000 of our men sick of the small pox and those who were most healthy like so many walking apparitions." — Force's Am. Archives, fifth series, vol. i, p. 339. * Stedvian's American War, vol. i, p. 252. ' Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i, p. 173. " Rev. Papers, vol. i, p. 512. MIERICAN DISASTERS. 417 The campaign of 1776 had been peculiarly disastrous to the American arms. In addition to the severe losses at the north, the expulsion of our troops from Canada, the defeat of Arnold, the capture of Lake Champlain with one of its most important southern out posts, there followed in rapid sequence the battle of Long Island, with its severe loss of upwards of 2000 killed and taken prisoners, among whom were three of our ablest generals, namely Stirling, Sullivan, and Woodhull; the British occupation of New York city, and capture of nearly all the military stores belonging to that department ; the drawn battle of White Plains which was tantamount to a defeat ; the fall of Forts "Washington and Lee; the seizure and occupancy of Rhode Island; and the general feeling of doubt, distrust, and dismay, prevailing among the militia whose term of service was nearly expired, cast a dark shadow of gloom over the close of the year, relieved only by the brilliant success at Trenton, and the promulgation of that magna charta of our liberties, the declaration of independence.^ Carleton, after a brief occupancy of Crown Point retired with his forces to Canada, without a single blow to rivet his conquest. Nov. 9th, Col. Gansevoort, according to General Gates's state- ment, had 231 men and officers fit for duty at Fort George.^ Three weeks previously, 688 barrels of flour were reported in store at that post. In the same month. Gen. Schuyler, who seems to have re- sumed command in the northern deparmeut, announces his in- tention to have 400 troops at Fort George for the winter ; ^ asks "that a sufficiency of pitch, oakum, and whatever may be ne- cessary for building and repairing vessels, floating batteries or batteaux be collected and carried to Fort George, Fort Ann, Skenesboro and Schenectady in the course of winter.''^ In a letter to Congress dated 30th Dec, he says, " it is therefore of importance that the garrison should be strengthened, and I have therefore repeated my former applications for assistance to the eastern states. Those of Van Schaick's, and Gansevoort's regiments that are raised, are under orders to march to Fort ^ The motion for the Declaration of Independence was submitted to congress by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia on the 7th of June, 1776, and the declaration itself solemnly adopted by that body July 4th, ensuing. ^ Force's American Archives, fifth series, vol. iii, p. 033. = Idem, p. 641. * Losdng's Life of Schuyler, vol. ii, p. 147. 53 418 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBTJRY. Edward, Fort George, Chesire's, and Skeensborough, but I fear the garrisons of those places (Pennsylvania troops), will have left them before the relief gets there, which is detained thro' the want of blankets, which I am trying to collect from the in- habitants in this city, and county." ^ I Losdng'a Life of Schuyler, p. 157. TORT ACTIVITT. 419 CHAPTER XL Campaign of 1777 — Movements op the Tories — Action at Sabbath Day Point — General Hospital at Lake George — New York declares Itself a Free and Independent State — Tories arrested near Luzerne — Adventures of William RoBARDS and Companions — The Parks Massacre at South Glen's Falls — Captivity, Escape and Adventures of Isaac Parks — The Bradshaws and Bakers of Sandy Hill — Pre- parations FOR Burgoyne's Advance. I'N injudicious, unsettled, and vacillating policy cha- racterized tlie administration of the affairs of the northern department, which was exhibited in the frequent change of its commanding officers ; as well in untimely and unjust criticisms upon their course and con- duct during the campaign of 1777. The opening of the year found General Schuyler in charge. To his untiring activity, able executive qualifications, exalted patriotism, and sterling good sense, the first great successes of the war are really to be credited. His hearty dislike of the Yankees, which he was at no pains to conceal, was doubtless fostered, if not engendered by the Vermont controversy, which on the 15th of January, found expression at a convention of delegates gathered at Westminster, in a declaration of inde- pendence, and a resolution that the new state should be called New Connecticut.^ An unwonted and general activity pervaded all the tory set- tlements and hamlets from the Mohawk to the St. Lawrence. Great expectations were entertained by the numerous royalists of the border counties, respecting the long talked of invasion from the north, and a disposition was manifested to cooperate with the British army so soon as it should make its appearance. Gen. Anthony Wayne, then in command at Ticonderoga writes to Gen. Schuyler on the 13th of February,^ that two ' Doc. Hist. N. ¥., vol. iv, p. 930, note. See also p. 942, note. ^ Rev. Papers, vol. i, p. 633. So early as the middle of February, a deputation of Indians was sent southward from Canada through the wilderness west of Lake Champlain, to obtain informa- 420 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. French deserters from Canada, just brouglit in by some scouts, report a large party of hostile Indians on the way to a foray along the northern border. In the early spring, a sanguinary engagement was had be- tween a scout of fifty Americans and eighty Indians and tories at Sabbath-day point on Lake George, in which the latter suf- fered a loss in killed and wounded of half their number.^ According to evidence adduced in one of the many courts martial held at this time, it appears that a general uprising of the tory element, and a raid toward Fort George by the way of Jessup's patent was contemplated and arranged for the early spring of this year,^ a part of which plan, as will presently be seen, was but too faithfully carried out. Oh the 25th of March, Gen. Schuyler, by order of congress, was superseded by Gen. Gates, his inferior in rank, and whose imperious manner, arrogant temper, and overbearing, uncon- ciliating disposition, had made him generally unpopular, and especially disliked by the New York troops, for whom, proba- bly by reason of his rivalry with Gen. Schuyler, he seemed to have a special antipathy. During the brief duration of his command, no changes or events of note transpired within his department. On the 22d of May, without any apparent motive or expressed reason, the command of the northern department was again committed to General Schuyler whose head-quarters at this time, and for seven weeks following, were in Albany. The general hospital of the northern department, which for a time, during the prevalence of small pox at the head of Lake George the previous year, had been established at Mount Inde- tion in relation to Gen. Howe's movements. They returned witli prisoners from ■whom was first learned the disasters of the British at Trenton — Lossing's Life of Schuyler, vol. ii, p. 195. ' Neilson's Burgoym's Gampnign, p. 85. " Capt. Alexander Baldwin of the independent company of rangers beinj^ exa- mined says, that on the 20th day of March last, he was taken prisoner with seven- teen others at Sabbath-day point by Capt. M'Kay and a party of Indians; that they were conducted thro' the wood to Montreal, and obliged to carry the packs of the Indians, and upon their arrival thero were confined in the Recollec church wliere they remained about six weeks. That while there, they were every day insulted by John Cobliam, Thomas Mann, David Jones,' Ebenezer Jessup,* and divers otiiers all Americans who had gone over to the enemy." — Rev. Papers, vol. II, p. 320. " Eev. Papers, vol. ii, p. 219. > The betrothed of Jane McCrea. "^ Que of the proprietors of the Jessup's patent at Luzerne which was afterwards confiscated. NEW YORK DECLARED A FREE STATE. 421 pendence, was by the order of Gen. Schuyler, early in the spring of the year transferred to the head of Lake George.^ In the convention of the representatives of the state of New York held at Kingston on the 20th of April, the colony of Kew York is formally declared a free and independent state. Among other provisions to meet the new order of things, it was deter- mined that the assembly should consist of at least seventy members, of which the county of Charlotte should be entitled to four. In May the movements of the tories became bold, and une- quivocal. On the 6th of the month Col. Gordon of Ballston arrested a party of 31 tories in arms on their way from Ballston to Crown Point. They were taken about twenty miles north of Ballston near or on Jessup's patent now the town of Luzerne. They were tried by court martial and fined fifteen dollars each. It appeared in evidence on the trial, that they were on their way to join the enemy at Crown Point, to avoid taking the oath of allegiance to congress. We now come to the narration of the personal adventures of several of the residents of this town who were made prisoners during this campaign by the wandering bands of tories and Indians who continually infested this region until after Bur- goyne's surrender. Among the papers on file in the state archives, is the following : " Ezekiel Roberts of Saratoga district, states that in August, 1776,^ he engaged as sergeant in Capt. Baldwin's company of rangers; was taken prisoner 19th May, 1777, and remained until December [when he was paroled and sent home with other prisoners by Gov. Carleton]. In May, 1780, was in- formed by Gov. Clinton that he was exchanged and discharged from his parole. Went over Lake George by order of his excellency in pursuit of Sir John Johnson, and soon after appointed lieutenant in the state levies, and again taken prisoner when under the command of Capt. Sherwood at Fort Ann, 10th Oct., 1780 ; remained two years in confinement, and then made his escape. Has a wife and two children for whose support he was obliged to contract debts. Is now destitute of ' As early as January 8th, Col. Van Scliaick, still in command at that post, stated in an official communication, that " a surgeon ought to be appointed without the least loss of time, and sent to me that I may forward him to Fort George where part of the regiment is stationed." — liev. Papers, vol. ii, p. 23. ' From Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan. 422 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. every thing. Prays for relief in a petition to the legislature, January 20th, 1783." Ezekiel Roberts was a brother ofWilliam Robards who fills so large a space in the early records of the town. He with Andrew Fuller his wife's brother and James Higson^ an un- compromising whig, a son-in-law of Abraham "Wing, were cap- tured while preparing to go a fishing on Lake George. They were carried to Canada and imprisoned. While in jail Robards was visited by some gentlemen, who wished him to give his parole that he would not escape and they would give him the jail liberties. He refused, saying that his family needed his services, and if there was any chance of his getting home, he should make the attempt. In consequence of this declaration, he had a strict guard placed over him, being con- fined in a room with another, a British deserter, and through the day an armed sentry was stationed in the room to watch their movements. The gentlemen who visited Robards were so well pleased with his spirit and nice sense of honor, that they fre- quently sent him wine and delicacies from their tables. While the sentry was out to his meals, the prisoners, being in some way cognizant or suspicious that a window was boarded up in the room, amused themselves by throwing sticks of firewood against the walls, until the locality of the window was determined, and it was shortly ascertained also that there was no intervening bars or bolts to prevent their escape. Taking turns night after night in cutting away the boards cautiously and carefully, with which the window was ceiled, secreting and disposing of the chips and shavings thus made, they at length achieved their purpose, and one day, while the guard was at dinner, the boarding was removed, and the deserter first clambered out. Robards, being lithe, supple, and active, jumped from the window, clearing the stockade which surrounded the building, and alighted in one of the streets of the French city of Montreal, where they had been imprisoned. They were fired at by the guards on duty as they ran, the Canadians on the street cheering and swearing to encourage the fugitives. The guards had to go around on the opposite side of the building, and open the gates before they could follow in pursuit. ' James Higson was an intimate friend of all the Widow Jones's sons, particu- larly David, with whom ho frequently hunted. Higson had an interest in the mills at Wing's falls. WILLIAM ROBARDS'S ESCAPE FROM CANADA. 423 In the mean time, guided by some sympathizing spectators, Robards and his companion ran along through the suburbs, gaining the city wall, which they scaled at a favoring point, and made their escape to the woods. The deserter soon gave out, grew eick and tired of the adventure, and concluded to return and surrender himself, leaving Robards to make his way alone. He traveled by night, guiding his course by the stars, and lay secreted by day. At length he came to a place by the shore of the lake where a rock jutted out above the water having a cave or recess beneath. Here he took refuge and rested a day or two. During this interval, he was suddenly aroused from a deep sleep by an Indian yell, and, apprehending pursuit, he sprang out from his place of concealment, and looking up, saw an Indian standing on the verge of the cliff above him, making signals to a companion standing on a point of land in the dis- tance, on the other side of the lake. Fortunately the savages did not discover him. At length, after many nights' wandering, he was fortunate enough to come accross a canoe and pair of paddles, which he unhesitatingly appropriated, and from that time forth his progress was more rapid and satisfactory. One day, his brother Ezekiel Robards then living in Queens- bury, proposed to one of his neighbors to go up to Lake George for the purpose of fishing, and also to take a sharp look, to see if any tories or Indians were about. "While fishing near the mouth of Yan Wormer's bay ^ they saw a small object in the distance on the lake, which approaching them, gradually be- came more thoroughly defined, and, as it drew near, Ezekiel exclaimed, "Its William I know by his motions." And so it proved. They returned together without any long delay, and, as they neared their home, Ezekiel told William to stay back in ' Jacob Van Wonner, after whom this bay was named, was one of the earliest settlers in the town of Fort Ann. After the revolutionary war, he experienced religion, and in one of his public confessions at prayer or conference meeting, acknowledged to having killed three men more than the circumstances would justify. It is proper to premise that he was a man of stalwart, and symmetrical as well as gigantic proportions. Before going into the battle of Bunker's Hill, he made himself a long handled tomahawk, and to quote his own confession ; " I sdruck to der right, und I sdruck to der left, und I killed my dwendies, und dat .vas all right ; put von poor fellow drew down his arms, und gried vor gwarter ; but I vos so mat mit der viten dat I kills him, und dat vos murder. Und after dat I kills a man down der Hutson river, und dat vos murder ; und ven Bur- goyne mit his army crossed der river at Fort ' iller, I shoots a Britisher dat vos in shwimmin in der river ; und dat vos murder ; und dat vos all I murdered ; der rest vos killed in fair fight." 424 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. the edge of the woods, while he went forward and broke the news to his wife. The latter was carrying a plate of butter from the spring house, or out door cellar, and as Ezekiel approached, he accosted her, saying, " Phebe, I've got good news for you, I've heard from William." She staggered back with the shock of emotion, as if she had been struck, exclaiming, "if you have heard from him, you have seen him," and sank to the ground in a dead faint. ^ We next come to the consideration of the Parks narrative. It is a family tradition, strongly corroborated by concurrent events, and also by corresponding traditions in neighboring families, and it is given here simply for what it is worth, leaving it to the candid and impartial reader, who has no selfish ends to serve, to weigh and estimate fairly the merits of the story. The connection of the Parks family with the Glen patent on the south side of the river from Glen's Falls village, has already been narrated, the indubitable proof of which, lends almost con- clusive testimony to the truth of this narrative. " There was, in the British army,^ a captain by the name of Daniel Parks, who took an active part in quelling and keeping in subjection, the savage, original inhabitants of the American continent long before the Revolution, who lived and died in some one of the southern states, probably in Virginia, and who had a son by the name of Daniel Parks. The latter removed and settled in Salisbury, Conn., where he resided till within a few years of the Revolution, when he emigrated to Glen's Falls, N. Y., where he purchased a tract of eight hundred acres of land, situated along the south bank of the Hudson's river, and settled and built the first mills at that place. About the year 1777, while the revolutionary war was in progress, and the country was swarming with marauding bands of savages and tories, his house was attacked at night by a band of tories, who demanded the keys to his desk, which contained his papers, etc., which the old man refused to deliver up. Thereupon one of the band clinched him, at which a scuffle ensued, which resulted in getting the old man down, when one of the party drew up ^ Relation of Miss KeziaJi Baker to the author in the summer of 1867. " This account of the Parks affair was obtained by the author from Daniel E. Parks, Esq., attorney and counselor at-law, lately of Sandy Hill, N, Y. The story was written down by him, as related by his father Barzillai, a son of Solomon Parks, many years ago, and I will add, that the lawyer, familiar from childhood with the family legend, considers this the correct version. THE PARKS MURDER. 425' and shot him. He was supposed at that time to be about seventy- five years of age, and died in defending himself against British aggression. Among the band was a man by the name of Richardson,' who lived in that vicinity, and who had purchased of the old man a piece of land containing about one hundred acres, for which Parks held his obligation, and it is confidently believed that the murdering wretches were incited to the commission of this act of barbarism by a desire to get possession of Richardson's obli- gation, and thus leave his land free from incumbrance. Elishaand Isaac Parks, sous of the old man above mentioned, resided with their father, but the attack of the tories was so sudden that they, not being near at hand, were unable to render the old man any assistance, and when they arrived on the scene of action, they found their father dead, and his murderers ap- parently gone.^ Elisha, a young married man, went to the door to make a reconnoisance, and while doing so, held a light in his hand, it being then dark. This attracted the attention of some of the tories who were lying in ambush , and made a good mark for their rifles, which they took advantage of, and shot him through the bowels, his wife then standing beside him. Placing his hand over the wound, he at once fled down the river, to the house of his brother Daniel Parks, who lived a mile below and notified him of the presence of the torifes, and what ^ " All I know of Ricliardson, I learned from tlie Parks family. He was ring- leader of the tories, who murdered the father of that family. He had some claim or title to the South Glen's Falls water power, and to obtain the Parks title papers, is supposed to have been the ijrincipal purpose of the. expedition. Old Mr. Parks saw through a window Kichardson and Ferguson (a tory tavern keeper at the Bend) looking at the Parks papers , went into the house, and was immediately killed by a gun breech blow on the head." — Letter to the author from the late Judge Hay. In another account of this affair, it is stated that the tory party /ound rest and refreshment at the house of one Ferguson a tory at the Bend. He had pretended to be a whig, had attended their meetings and signed their articles of association, and up to this time was considered a zealous patriot. Sending out scouts in the direction of Lake George, and keeping a watchful outlook on the movements of the Parks family, the party lurked around in the vicinity for a week or more, until Ferguson, in the expressive language of my informant, " was eaten out of house and home." '^ Ephraim Parks, a brother of Daniel, with his brother inlaw Lewis Brown, lived in a double log house, situated on the cliff just above the site of the paper mill, They were made prisoners, but Brown afterwards escaped as appears in the narrative. 54 426 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QTJEENSBURY. had happened. Daniel at once took down his gun, and pro- posed to repair to the scene of action, but, upon the entreaties of Elisha, who represented that he could not contend against so many, and would only endanger his life in a fool-hardy manner, he was prevailed upon to stay and secure his family. This was done by removing them across the river in canoes. Elisha pro- posed to remain at his brother's house, but Daniel would not listen to the proposition. Yielding to the entreaties of the latter, he was conveyed across the river, where they took refuge in the grist mills ^ at Sandy Hill, where he died the same night or early the following morning. His remains, and those of his father, were buried at Sandy Hill, on the site now covered by the Presbyterian church. Two rude slabs of stone, which ori- ginally marked the place of sepulture, it is said, were incorpo- rated into the foundation of that ediiice, whose fane shades the resting place of these martyrs. Isaac, the other son, was taken prisoner, and carried to Quebec, from whence he escaped three times, and was as often retaken, and ultimately exchanged. The third time he escaped in com- pany with five others, who, after they had traveled through the wilderness a length of time sufficient to exhaust all of their pro- visions, and were in a famished condition, it was proposed to cast lots to see which should be sacrificed to serve as food for J Probably a mistake, for after diligent inquiry, the author has failed to receive any evidence that a grist mill was built at Sandy Hill before the year 1795. One of the first buildings erected in the town of Kingsbury was a saw-mill put up by James Bradshaw, one of the patentees and proprietors, at Baker's falls. The tract was then commonly known as Bradshaw's township. Albert Baker, the second settler at that place, and after whom the third fall on the Hudson was named, removed thither with his family in May, 17G8. He was employed and sent up by the New York proprietors of the patent to look after their interests. His first house, a framed building, was built the same year. It stood not far from the main traveled road to Fort Edward, fronting on the street which led to the mills. The second dwelling house at Sandy Hill, was a two story framed building, •which stood near Mr. Nelson Wait's residence. This was built for Baker's partner Michael Hoffhagle. The latter building was accidentally burned, before the com- mencement of the revolution. At the time of which we write, a tavern was kept by a widow named Harris on the site now occupied by the Second Advent church, at the southern part of the village. Albert Baker jr., a son of the one named above, was a private in the American service during the revolution. Another brother, then only nine years old, served as a teamst(!r in Gates's army, and afterwards drew a pension. — Relation of Mrs. Rachel Clary ^ daxighter of Albert Baker jr., as above, Jaii., 1860. THE PARKS MURDER. 427 the remainder. A vote being taken, three were for, and three against the proposition, Isaac Parks being among the latter. The fugitives then separated, those voting with Parks going in one direction, and the remainder in another. The Parks party was soon visited bj a dog supposed to belong to some Indians scouting near. This was killed and eaten, and they were afterwards driven to the extremity ot roasting and eating their shoes. They at length became so utterly exhausted, that they were unable to ascend a hill without help, from each other, and whenever an elevation interrupted their progress, they were able to surmount it only by crawling on their hands and knees. One day, while they were ascending a hill in this manner, they were discovered and retaken by a party of Indians, who displayed the usual terrific exultation on the seizure of a captive, and prepared to inflict the customary tortures and death. In some way, Parks, and his fellow sufferers, succeeded in satis- fying their captors that they were tories and friends escaping from imprisonment by the whigs. Under the promise of a guinea each, the Indians were induced to escort them back to the Canada border. Crossing the St. Lawrence river, they were recognized as escaped prisoners by some of the Indians there, and they would have been despatched, but for the timely interference of some British soldiers. We supplement this narrative with the following relation made by a grand-daughter of Albert Baker, one of the first settlers at Sandy Hill. At the time when the Parks were killed, the old lady, and the rest of the women, running out of the back door of their homes,^ escaped down the river, and crossing over, went directly to Albert Baker's house (near where Mr. Kelson Wait now lives), in the dead of the night. The family were aroused by the hj^steric sobs, shrieks and moans of the old lady. * Anotlier account says, the women of tlie houseliold at tlie first alarm made for the woods and escaped. They had with them a lad of thirteen or fourteen years of age, whom they bundled up with clothing to screen him from observation. On their way they were met by two or three Indians, who asked them where they were going and what they were doing with the boy. With great readiness of mind in the terrible emergency, one of them replied, that the boy had the small pox and they were taking him away, so that the rest of the family should not catch the disease. The Indians immediately dropped all further inquiries, and hastened away from the supposed danger of infection, the entire party of fugitives, boy included, making their way to the woods and finally escaping to Fort Edward. 428 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. At this time Major Thomas Bradshaw/ a son of James Brad- shaw, one of the original patentees and proprietors of the township of Kingshrury, had a small reserve of militia posted at Bradshaw's farm, on Wood creek, since known as the Bond place, between Smith's basin and Dunham's basin, on the northern canal. Of the neighbors who came in as soon as the news of the massacre became known, none were found willing to go for help, until Albert Baker jr., the narrator's father, and Rinaldo Burden Phillips, two stout, well grown lads, hardly appreciating the dangers, volunteered for the service. When they reached the Bradshaw place, they found no one, but a tory family living in the neighborhood, directed them to the barn, where they found the major alone, his militia having scattered to their homes in the vicinity, and before he could rally them together the marauders were so far away on the^r retreat, that pursuit was useless. The alarm reaching Fort Edward,^ on the following morning, a party was soon made up to start in pursuit of the assassins. On the way they were joined by Daniel Parks, and his brother-in-law, Lewis Brbwn, who, in the confusion which followed his capture, had managed to make his escape. On reaching the scene of the massacre, they only found the smoking embers of the mills and the old man's house. The other dwelling on the cliff above the mill was not disturbed. It is stated that the Indians and tories tried to reach the dwelling of Andrew Lewis, son-in-law of Abraham Wing, who then lived on the island, but were prevented by the absence of any boat. ' Thomas Bradsliaw, a son of James Bradslaaw, was a major in tlie American ser- "vice but for some reason never succeeded in obtaining a pension. — Relation of Mrs. Rachel Clary. I find among the Wing papers the following memorandum, without date : " The expenses of the men of the guard, amount to the sum of two pounds, (£2, 00), for 6 eating and drinking. To Capt. Richardson, Thomas Bradshaw, Sarg't." Mem. Asa Richardson was appointed captain of the company for the Kings- bury district {see ante), 23d Sept., 1775 ; as this account does not ai)pear to have been paid, of course Mr. Wing was out of pocket that amount. ' Near the top of the hill above Fort Edward, not far from the site now occupied by the Grove house, there was a tavern kept by one Bell, a tory. It was a place of considerable note, a favorite resort of loyalists, where many a scheme of rapine, violence and outrage was concerted and matured. — Communication of tlie late Judge Hay. THE PARKS MURDER. 429 The pursuers, taking the trail, followed the fugitives with considerable celerity, hoping to overtake them before reaching Lake Champlain where their escape would be facilitated by canoes concealed somewhere along its shores. Hastening up the west side of the Hudson crossing the Sacandaga at its mouth, they proceeded as far as Stony creek, a small creek in the town of that name in the western part of Warren county. Here the fleeing party, finding they were pursued took to the bed of the stream, and made their way for many miles. The pursuers were in consequence thrown off the trail, and the chase was abandoned. The fruitless result of this expedition was doubtless fortunate for the few captives carried off, who were threatened with imme- diate death, if they were overtaken by the pursuing party. The effect of this raid was to break up for the time being, the settlement known as the Parks mills. Daniel on the following morning procured a team, and removed his family, and such effects as could readily be transported within the protection of the military force at Fort Edward, and when that post was abandoned, he retreated with the American army to Bemus's heights, where he participated in that memorable action, which resulted in the surrender of one of the largest and best appointed British armies which had yet taken the field against the rebel- lious colonies. After the termination of the war, he returned to rebuild the house, which he occupied with his family up to the time of his death. In the lapse and changes of years a large proportion of the Glen patent passed into the hands of various descendants of Daniel Parks. Solomon Parks, then but a mere stripling, was among the militia stationed at Fort Ann under the command of Colonel Long in 1777. About two weeks prior to Burgoyne's advance, and the cap- ture of that post, Solomon with others was detailed to escort the inhabitants at the region to a place of safety. All the horses and oxen of the neighborhood were seized upon for that purpose, and most of the women and children of the threatened frontier were removed to join their friends in Dutchess county and the adjacent county in Connecticut. At a later period, these Sittings and returns became so frequent, that in the language of one octogenarian, whose memory reverted back to those early days, 430 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. "they had little to carry or lose; " and the love of home, and adventure must have been strong, indeed, which brought them back, after such repeated losses and alarms.^ At the outbreak of the revolution, there was probably no where in this vicinity a stronger tory nest than that existing across the west mountain, some ten miles distant from Queens- bury settlement, under the favor and encouragement of the brothers, Ebenezer and Edward Jessup, sharp, enterprising and apparently unscrupulous business men, who had, from time to time, secured the grant of various patents of land not only within the limits of the present town of Luzerne, but also the extensive tracts known as the Hyde township ^ and Totten and Crossfield's purchase,^ which embraced the greater portion of the northern part of Warren, as well as part of Essex and Hamilton counties. It has already been shown that they held title to lands in the town of Queensbury, and that lumber had been sawed for them at an early date at the Queensbury mills. The private accounts of Abraham Wing also exhibit charges against them for enter- tainment of a very liberal and generous character, at Wing's tavern. Somewhere about the year 1770, Ebenezer removed to this then wilderness region, and built him a spacious log dwelling on the farm now occupied by Thurlow Leavins, and on the brook near by, erected a saw and grist mill. From him, the cata- ract a few miles below* on the Hudson derived the commonly * The late Mrs. Alfred Ferris, tlie daugliter of Benjamin, and granddaughter of Abraham Wing. ' " July, 1772, is the date of the Indian deed to Ebenezer and Edward Jessup, for 40,000 acces, being the Hyde township. This was probably the 39th to the 31st of July ; for in the proceedings relating to the Totten and Crossfield purchase, further on, is a notice of an Indian council, at which (the last held by the Mo- hawks), the etfort was made to extinguish their title to all of their remaining lands. At this date was signed, among other deeds, the Palmer purchase of 1?3,000 acres ; and the Totten and Crossfield's purchase of 800,000 acres. The date of the grant of the Hyde township is September 17th, 1774. That of the Dartmouth, October 4th of the same year. This last is to Jeremiah Van Rens- selaer and others, and lies in the towns of Hadley, Stony Creek and Thurman." — Butler's Ilandbook of the Adirondack Railway, p. 35. ° " This immense and well known tract was evidently intended to extinguish the Mohawk title to all such lands as they might possess north of the west branch of the Hudson river. * * * * The person who got up and carried through this unusual land grant was Ebenezer Jessup ; Messrs. Totten and Crossfield being merely i)ut forward as a cover." — Idem. , p. 36. * The Jessup brothers owned a ferry across the Hudson above the High falls, and the name of Jessup'a landing on the Corintli side of the river is perpetuated to this day. JESSUPS FALLS. 431 received name of Jessup's falls. There, until after the com- mencement of the revolutionary war he maintained a state and style of living which bespoke opulence, taste, culture, and familiarity with the elegancies and customs of the best provin- cial society. If tradition is to be credited, his commodious and comfortable dwelling, however rude may have been its exterior, was the frequent theatre of hospitable entertainments, its rooms garnished with elegant furniture, its walls embellished with costly paintings and choice engravings, its capacious tables arrayed in spotless linen and imported covers, and loaded with massive silver plate. All of this, with the many costly fittings and adjuncts of such a house was at a later date plundered and carried away. Edward Jessup,^ whose patent included and covered the site of the present village of Luzerne also erected at this point a dwelling and mills, the first in the vicinity. The picturesque rapids and fall, which has altogether a descent of eighteen or twenty feet, hence derived the name of Jessup's little falls.^ Scattered through this region lived a number of tories, among whom may be enumerated the following. John Howell who dwelt up the Sacandaga river, in the direction of Johustown. Six brothers of the name of Lovelace, descendants of Gov. Lovelace, who resided at difterent points on the opposite side of the river, and one of whom, who lived near the Stiles place in the town of Wilton was in one of the last years of the war, executed at Schuylerville, as a spy, by order of General Stark,^ after due trial by drum head court martial. Another was Jacob Salisbury, who was shortly afterward captured in a cave known ' " August 14th, 1767, was filed a petition of Edward Jessup and fourteen others for a grant of 4,100 acres of land on the east side of Hudson's river. * * * The date of the grant was May 21st, 1768. ****** Edward Jessup of Saratoga (Schuylerville), lived on the place where John McEwen now resides, near Rockwell's hotel. He built a grist mill on Wells creek. The old cellar on the hill, near the burying ground, is the one which was attached to the said mill." — Butler's Hand Book of the Adirondack Baihcay, pp. 23, 27. " " Jessup's little falls are situate here on the Hudson, whose waters rush through a narrow gorge between high and rocky cliflFs, down about twenty feet. The bridge spans the whole, Avhich is fifty or sixty feet in height. The view is here bold, impressive and romantic. Many years ago these waters were measured, and found to be of a depth of sixty -two feet. A few years since, an appropriation was made by the state legislature for clearing out the channels of the river for log navigation. Under this act, the salient points of the rocks were broken pff. In- deed at one spot the passage was but twelve feet wide." — Idem, p. 21. ' He was captured by a militia man named Hezekiah Dunham. 432 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. to this day as the tory house, situated among the Helder- bergs. There were also several members of the Fairchild family living a few miles further down the river, in the vicinity of the hill known as Hog's back. According to the tradition, in the month of April or May, 1777, Indian runners were de- spatched to these families, notifying them of Burgoyne's in- tended approach, and probably with some suggestions in re- gard to their cooperation with certain bands of tories gathering in the lower part of the Saratoga district. However this may be, notice of their intentions was received, and a party of whigs were despatched in pursuit, the latter coming from the direction of Ballston. So hot was the chase, that it is said one of the Jessups only secured his escape by jumping across the river at the Little falls.^ From thence he escaped across the town of Queensbury ^ to Skenesborough, at the head of Lake Champlaiu, and eventually found his way to Burgoyne's camp at Willsborough falls. After Gates had assumed command of the army, he sent Lieut. Ellis with a party of men to arrest the Jessups and other tories in that vicinity, but finding them gone he, in pursuance of orders, destroyed the settlement, laid waste their grain fields and left nothing standing of their improvements but the mills. It is be- lieved that these were afterwards destroyed. The houses had already been pillaged, and everything of value carried away. Thus was crushed out one of the earliest settlements in Warren county. ' If it was either of the Jessups, it must have been Edward, as by the petition of Ezekiel lloberts, occurring in this chapter, it appears thatEbeuezer Jessup was at this time in Canada, and he was soon after entrusted with a command in Bur- goyne's army. Another version of the aiFair makes it one of the Fairchilds who jumped the stream, a feat rendered quite possible by swinging down the cliflf from the branches of some favoring tree. According to the same autlior so liberally quoted, there was near this place, by the wester ; shore of^ Lake Luzerne and on the site of the residence of the late Hon. N. B. La Bau, an ancient camping ground and fire-place of the Iroquois. — See Butler's Hand Book of the Adirondack Itdil may, p. 20. " According to one of the manuscript maps in the State library, there was at this time a road extending direct from the upper picket post (Brown's Half-way house) to Fort Ann and Skenesborough. GENERAL BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 433 CHAPTER Xn. Plan op Campaign of 1777, Determined by the British Ministry — Organization of the British Army and advance Southward — Joined by Savages at the River Boquet — Indian Council and Feast at that Point — Burgoyne assumes Command, and issues Proclamation to the People op the Colonies — Americans Evacuate Fort Ticonderoga — Re- treat UP THE Lake — Engagement at Hubbardton — The British occupy Skenesborough — Action at Fort Ann — Re- treat OF its Garrison to Fort Ann — Americans posted at Five Mile Run — Garrison at South Glen's Falls — The Story of Moses Harris, General Schuyler's Celebrated Spy — Events following Burgoyne's Advance. ^T was resolved by the British ministry to prosecute the campaign of 1777 with increased vigor and energy. To this end, an expedition was planned whose purpose was to penetrate the province York from the north, and which, by the bold- ness and celerity of its movements, cooperating with another expeditionary force from the south, should bisect the rebellious territory, which thus divided and crippled would be placed helpless and suppliant at the conqueror's feet. "With this ob- ject in view, General Burgoyne, who had visited England the preceding winter, and who had assisted in planning the details of the movement, was entrusted with the supreme command. He was supported by a corps of carefully selected, able and experienced officers, furnished with an ample supply of war material, and a well appointed army of which the regular troops alone amounted to seven thousand one hundred and seventy- three men,^ exclusive of the artillery corps, and a body of Canadian militia, which swelled the number to upwards often thousand. The regulars were veteran and thoroughly dis- ciplined troops fresh from the battle fields of Europe, and fondly believed invincible. To perfect and coordinate the operations of the campaign, "the inhabitants of Canada were commanded to furnish men 'Stedman'a American War, vol. i, p. 320. 55 434 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. sufficient to occupy the woods on the frontiers, to prevent deser- tion, to procure intelligence, and to intercept all communication between the enemy, and the malcontents in the province." ^ Detachments of Indians were sent forward to the river Bo- quet on the one side of Lake Champlain, and to Otter creek on the other, to clear the way from scouting parties of the enemy, while Commodore Lutwych advanced with a powerful naval force up the lake, prepared to sweep away any obstructions that might present to retard or obstruct the rapid a:dvance of this large and well appointed army. Burgoyne arrived at Quebec in the month of May. On the 31st, orders were issued to the several commandants of the de- partments, embodying instructions for the order of march. On the second of June the movement southward began, such of the troops as were not provided with transportation by water, moving along parallel with the water of the river and lake as far as Cumberland head, where other shipping had been pro- vided. At Bouquet river ^ he was joined by a party of four hundred Indians of the fierce and merciless tribes of the Cana- dian wilderness, under some of the same chiefs and leaders who rendered themselves infamous by their barbarities and cruelties at the Fort William Henry massacre in 1757. Here Burgoyne gave a war feast on the 2l8t of June, on which occasion he made a conciliatory speech, and " humanely endeavored to soften their ferocity, and restrain their thirst for blood." ^ On the 26th the army reached Crown Point, where Burgoyne in person assumed the entire command, which had hitherto remained divided among the respective generals of the department."* Burgoyne's famous proclamation, which so justly aroused the indignation, contempt, and derision of the American people, was issued from the camp near Ticonderoga, and was dated July 2d, 1777.^ On the same day General Phillips advanced, and took possession of an elevation some two miles northwest ' Stedman's American War, pp. 330-1. ' " This river derives its name from a Colonel Bouquet who commanded an ex- pedition against the Indians whilst Canada was under the French government." — Aiibury's travels, vol. i, p. 280. ' Palmer's History of Lake Ohamplain, p. 135. * Memoirs of General Riedesel (Stone's translation), vol. i, pp. 99-109. ' See Nile's American Revolution, pp. 263, 3, 4, for copy of the proclamation, and an amusing and satirical travesty, in which the bombast and pretension of the former are very happily set off. The latter was dated at Saratoga July 10, 1777. GENERAL BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 435 of the fortificatioDB at Ticonderoga, where he threw up breast- works, and entrenchments, which he named Mount Hope in the anticipation of an approaching victory. This movement caused Gen. St. Clair to abandon and destroy the defenses in the direc- tion of Lake George.^ SKETCH OB TICONDEROGA. The engineer corps, assisted by a detail of men, proceeded to take possession of Sugar hill, a commanding eminence on the south side of the outlet of Lake George and immediately over- ' The miserable condition of our own army, and its unfitness for encounter with the well armed, well clad, well provisioned, and highly disciplined troops of Eng- land can be judged by the following extract : " General Schuyler visited Ticonderoga and Mount Independence on the 20th of June, 1777. He found the troops there miserably clad, and armed, and nothing in store for them. Many were ' actually barefooted,' he said, ' and most of them ragged." He besought congress to procure clothing, arms, and blankets. He held a council of officers, who observed, with much concern, the great lack of pre- parations for attack, caused by the utter inadequacy of the garrison for many months to do the work, and the want of effort on the part of Gates while in com- mand ; and when Schuyler spoke of the danger of the enemy taking a position on Mount Defiance, rising seven Jiundred feet above Ticonderoga, on the opposite 436 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. looking the fort. The name of this elevation was at this time changed to Mount Defiance. A road was made to its summit, and a battery erected there so that on the morning of the fifth, the fort became no longer tenable. The year before, a military work known as a star fort, had been erected on a hill on the Vermont side of the lake opposite to Ticonderoga, which in honor of the declaration of our liberties was named Mount In- dependence. Here the general hospital had been established by Dr. Potts, while the small pox cases were despatched to the head of Lake George. This post was connected with that of Ticonderoga by a floating bridge of massive structure sup- ported by piers and protected on the north by a heavily ironed boom which it was thought sufficient to prevent the passage of shipping from the north. Immediately upon the discovery that the British were in possession of Mount Defiance, Gen. St. Clair called ta council of war, by whom an evacuation of the fort and retreat was de- termined upon. This was not made known to the troops until the following midnight, when orders were issued to embark the women, the sick and wounded on board two hundred long boats gathered for the purpose. "The boats were then loaded deep with cannon, tents, and provisions, and at three o'clock in the morning, started for Skenesborough, accompanied by five armed galleys and a guard of six hundred men, under command of Col. Long, of the New Hampshire troops." ^ As soon as this detachment was fairly under way, St. Clair with the main body of the army crossed the bridge, and retired side of the iulet to Lake George, it was the unanimous opinion of the officers that Buch occupation was almost impossible, owing to the rugged character of the ap- proaches to it, and secondly, that all the troops in the department were insuffi- cient to construct fortifications there, and to defend them and the other posts. So it was resolved to defend Ticonderoga and Mount Independence as long as possible. To this end Schuyler gave St. Clair definite instructions, at the same time leaving him to exercise large discretionary powers, to meet any emergency, while Schuyler was below making provision to meet the anticipated invasion of the Mohawk country. He a])pealed to Washington for reififorcements, informing him that if the Americans should be compelled to evacuate Ticonderoga, and Burgoyne should make his way to the south part of Lake Champlain, he had not a man to oppose him, the whole number at the different posts at and on this side of the lake, in- cluding the garrison of Fort George and Skenesborough, not exceeding seven hundred men." — Lomnt/s Schuyler, vol. ii, p. 193. ' Palmer's History of Lake Cliamplain, p. 141. EVACUATION OF TICONDEilOGA. 437 in the direction of Castleton. During this retreat, a continued cannonade was kept up in the direction of Mount Hope to dis- tract the attention of the enemy and distract suspicion. At the same time the intrenchments at Mount Independence were evacuated. The conflagration of General de Fermoy's quarters who had command here, and who set fire to them, in contravention of express orders, gave the enemy the first intimation of the retreat. Commodore Lutwych immediately set sail, and forcing his way through the boom, bridge, and other obstructions, gave chase to the retreating craft, a portion of which were overtaken and captured, some of the boats beached and burned with their contents to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy.' The remainder made their way to the head of the lake at Skeuesborough, where, within the protection of the recently erected batteries, the fugitives had a brief rest. In a few hours, however, the approach of the enemy, whose vessels had passed up South bay and lauded their forces, made it necessary to resume their retreat, and some in boats up Wood creek, and some by land escaped to Fort Anne, and thence to Fort Edward. The retreating army was followed from Mount Independence by the columns of Fraser and Riedesel. The rearguard under Colonels Warner and Francis was overtaken by Fraser at Hubbardton on the morning of the 6th when a sharp and san- guinary engagement took place,^ in which. Col. Francis was killed at the head of his regiment, and the Green mountain ' " The loss to the Americans, by the evacuation of Ticonderoga, was very great ; no less than one hundred and twenty-eight pieces of cannon, together with all the boats, provisions, stores, and magazines were either destroyed or fell into the hands of the British. Among the trophies of the day was the continental standard, which the Americans had neglected to take with them on their retreat. The evacuation of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence was condemned through the country. The people were not prepared for so disastrous an event, for it was generally believed that the works on Lake Champlain were in a condition to re- sist any attack of the enemy. Both Schuyler and St. Clair were severely and unjustly censure'd ; the former for not sending reinforcements when he had none to send, and the latter for omitting to fortify Mount Hope and Mount Defiance, when his whole force was insufficient to man the defences of the forts them- selves." — Palmer's History of Lake Champlain, p. 144. " Colonels Jessup and Peters had command of battalions in this action. David Jones was one of a company of tory scouts assigned to Fraser's division at this time. The veritable Baron Munchausen was also present, attached to lliedesel's corps, as a subaltern. — Correspondence of the late Judge Hay, 438 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. boys under "Warner were badly cut up. On the 8th the battle of Fort Anne ensued, in which Col. Long of the new Hampshire contingent, after a prolonged and desperate resistance, con- tinued until his ammunition was entirely exhausted was obliged to evacuate the post and retreat to Fort Edward. It is to be remembered that Col. Long's force consisted of cripples, con- valescents enfeebled by disease, and raw militia ; while the attacking force commanded by Colonel Hill, consisted of the 9th British regiment, and another detachment of regulars, already flushed with victory, and confident in their success.^ The remains of Cols. Francis and Warner's regiments, effected a junction on the route of retreat with the main army under St. Clair, and all arrived at Fort Edward on the 12th, where General Schuyler was posted^ with a small force, and awaiting with anxiety intelligence from the scene of hostilities. These rapid successes of Burgoyue had almost paralyzed the country. Fort Ticonderoga was popularly considered impreg- nable. A favorite theory of General Washington which had obtained in some way genera] acceptance, was, that no attack would be made by the way of Lake Champlain. The succes- sive evacuation and loss of these frontier posts, was speedily followed by general distrust and unwarranted charges of treachery and collusion with the enemy against Schuyler, and St. Clair, two of the purest and most patriotic men in the service. During the progress of events herein narrated, General Schuyler had not been inactive. He had gathered up and swept before him for the use of his little army, or to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy, all the resources of ' Silliman's Tour, p. 165. " 8tli July. The enemy after an attack of three hours, were totally repulsed, and fled towards Fort Edward, setting fire to Fort Anne, but leaving a saw mill, and a block house in good repair, which were afterwards possessed by the king's troops. — Burgoyne's State of the Expedition, Appendix, XIX. ' In a letter dated at Fort Edward the 9th of July, 1777, Gen. Schuyler says, •' I have not been able to learn what is become of General St. Clair, and the army. The enemy followed the troops that come to Skenesborough as far as Fort Anne, where they were yesterday repulsed ; notwithstanding which. Colonel Long, con- trary to my express orders, evacuated that post. I am here at the head of a hand- ful of men, not above fifteen hundred, without provision, with little ammunition, not above five rounds to a man, having neither balls, nor lead to make any ; the country in the deepest consternation ; no carriages to remove the stores from Fort George, which I expect to learn every moment is attacked." — WasJdngton Gorre- sfpondence, vol. iv, p. 192, Twte. THE COUNTRY STRIPPED OF RESOURCES. 439 the surrounding country. A despatch to General Ten Broeck on the 10th, announced that he had already saved about forty pieces of cannon, and fifteen tons of gunpowder by removing *The following affidavits and vouchers exhibit in part the losses of the inhabit- ants of Queensbury at this time : No. 1. Affidavit of Abraham Wing relating to losses incurred during the retreat of the American army at the time of Burgoyne's advance, towards Saratoga. In the month of July, 1777, the under-mentioned cattle were taken from me by General Orders and Converted to the use of the Continental Army, for which I have never received any compensation, vizt : 1 Red Sorrel Horse aged 7 years and worth £25 „ 00 „ 1 Large Mare aged 3 years worth 20 „ 00 „ 1 Mare and her Colt worth 18 „ 00 „ 1 Cow five years old worth 8 „ 00 „ 2 large fatt Calves worth when taken 3 „ 00 „ 11 Best Sheep worth two Dollars each 8 „ 16 „ £83 „ 16 „ And in the month of July, 1777, my mills were dismantled of 25 Saws, 2 Rag- Wheels, Gudgeons, Hoops, Bands, Hoggles, Roundsills, Hands, Dogs, Barrs & all other utensills necessary for two Mills in Compleat Repair, for none of which articles I have ever received any compensation whatever. These Mill Irons were carried off in two waggons on the retreat of the Con- tinental army from Fort George and were worth at least one Hundred and Twenty Pounds Abraham Wing. Washington ) County J 6th March, 1786 This Day personally appeared the above named Abm Wing and made affirmation to the truth of the above before me. Adiel Sherwood, Jub. Pe. No. 2. Affirmation of Abraham and Benjamin Wing, concerning grain and hay converted to the use of the Continental Army. We do hereby most solemnly affirm that in the month of July, 1777, the under- named grain was taken from us for the use of the Continental Army on their retreat from Fort George for which we have Never received any Compensation in any Manner & grane, and the Quantity was apprised by Morgan Lewis and the price affixed by Phinehas Babcock, Andrew Lewis and James Higson, viz. 16 Bushels Oats 18 Bushels rve 30 Bushels of -Oats 66 Bushels of Corn 36 Bushels of Wheat 3 tons of hay j Washington \ 6th March 1786 County J This day personally appeared the above Signers and Solemly affirmed in the presense of Almighty God that they had not received any com- pensation for the above articles. Adeel Sherwood, Juss Peice Valued at forty three pounds five shillings Abraham Wma Benjamin Wing Benjn Wing 440 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBIIRY. them from Fort George. In a letter written about the middle of the month, he states, " if the enemy will permit me to pass unmolested, three days longer to Fort George, I shall be able Certificate of the Quartermaster General to the receipt of Grain and Hay for the use of the Continental Army. 60 Bushels Potatoes j ^bm Wing 80 Skipples Wheat V ""'b 5 Tons Hay ) 16 BuslsOats 18 Do Rye 30 Do Oats 66 Do Corn 36 Do Wheat 3 Tons Hay The above is agreeable to appraisement made by order Maj'r Gen'l Schuyler. M. Lewis, 9 May 1778 D. Q. M. G. No. 4. Affidavit relating to the same. We do hereby solemnly swear that to the best of our knowledge the different articles as certified by Morgan Lewis which were taken from Abraham and Benjamin Wing by the Continental Army were worth vizt. : from Abraham Wing amount 60 Bushels potatoes Worth 2s. Gd. "^ Bushell £7 „ 10 „ 80 Skipples Wheat 4s. Qd. %J Skipple 18 „ 00 „ 5 Tons Hay 60s. ^ Ton 15 „ 00 „ £40 „ 10 „ From Benjn Wing. 16 Bushell Oats worth 2s. M. ^ Bushell £2 „ 00 „ 18 Bushell Rye 5s. ^ Bushell 4 „ 10 „ 30 Bushell Oats 2s. Qd. %^ Bushell 3 „ 15 „ 66 Bushell Corn 4s. "^ Bushell 13 „ 4 „ 36 Bushell Wheat 6s. '~^ Bushell 10 „ 16 „ 3 Tons Hay @, 60s. ^J Ton 9 „ 00 „ Amount of the whole £43 „ 5 „ PniKEHAS BaBCOCK James Higson Andrew Lewis Washington County, 6th March 1786 This day personally appeared before me the above signers and made Solemn Oath in the presence of Almighty God the above estimation was to the best of their knowledge. Adiel Sherwood, Jus. No. 5. The following memorandum of account fixes the date of the foregoing. The Public 1777 To Abraham Wing Dr July 16th To 00 Bushels @ 6s £18 „ 00 „ 80 Skipi)les Wheat @ 15s 45 „ 00 „ 5 Tons Hay @ £6, 30 „ 00 „ I I THE COUNTRY STRIPPED OF RESOURCES. 441 to bring away all the stores from thence and then draw off the few troops we have there. Burgoyue corroborates this in a letter No. 6. AflBdaN^it of Andrew Lewis, — relating to loss of Horses. I do hereby most solemnly Swear that on the retreat of the Continental Army from Fort George, there was a black mare taken from me by order of Major General Schuyler, by a party Commanded by Col Morgan Lewis, which mare was worth at least Twelve pound in Gold or Silver & under nine years of age. Andrew Lewis. Washington I ^.^ March. irSO. This day personally appeared before me Andrew Lewis the signer of the abovo and made solemn oath to the truth of the above. Adiel Sherwood, Jus. No. 7. Benjamin Wing's affirmation respecting the loss of Cattle, &c. I do hereby most solemnly affirm that in the Month of July 1777, the under- named Cattle were taken from me by order of Major General Schuyler for the Use of the Continental army on their retreat from Fort George, vizt 1 Large Young Horse worth " . . £36-0-0 1 Large Ox worth 10-0-0 1 Bull worth 5-0-0 3 Milch Cows worth 7£ Eacli 21-0-0 2 Large fatt Heifers worth 12-0-0 3 Calves worth 3-0-0 £77-0-0 which Cattle I do solemnly affirm were worth at Least Seventy-seven pounds in Gold or Silver, when taken from me, & for which I never have received any Com- pensation myself nor no other person on my account. Benj Wing. This Day personally appeared before me the above signer Benj Wing and affirmed in the presence of Almighty God that the above act is True for which he had received no Compensation. Adiel Sherwood Jus No. 8. Phinehas Babcock's affidavit concerning losses. I do hereby most Solemnly Swear that on the retreat of the Continental Troops from Fort George Captain Lyman & a party of Soldiers ) ^fi-fl-O took from me one Milch Cow value ) *" Capt. Whitcumb & a party of Soldiers \ r:_{\(\ took from me 10 Sheep value IDs J ^"^'~" Lieut Howard & a party of Soldiers i took from me 1 yoke of oxen valued 1 ^fi_0-0 at £20 [ 1 Mare 3 years old value 10 J £41-0-0 Amounting in all to forty-one pounds, for which no compensation whatever has been made to me or any other person on my behalf & I do further most solemnly 56 442 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. to Lord George Germaine, in the following words. " The enemy are laboring to remove the magazines from Forts George and Bwear that the above Cattle were -worth the above valuation of forty-one pounds, in Gold or Silver, when taken from me for the use of the Continental Army — Phinehas Babcock. Washington | g^j^ y^^^^^ ^^gg County J This Day personally appeared before me the above Signer Phinehas Babcock Made Solemn Oath in the presence of Almighty God that the above Estimation was true and that he had not received any pay or Compensation for any of them. Adiel Sherwood Jus : No. 9. • In addition to the cattle heretofore enumerated were a number of milch kine which were returned to the owners pursuant to the following order of Maj. Gen. Schuyler. Sir : A number of Milch Cows have been brought down from beyond our lines some of which belong to Mr. Abraham Wyng and his family and as he is so situated that he cannot move I have permitted him to remain and consented that he should take back eight of his cows. You will therefore please to deliver them to him. I am Sir ■ Your Hu Sert Ph: Schuyler. Head Quarters July 26 1777 To Major Gray D: Commissary. No. 10. James Higson's Affidavit respecting losses. In the month of July 1777, the Undermentioned articles were taken from me for the use of the Continental Army By General orders & delivered to Brigadier Qenl. Lamed, vizt. • " One Large Bay Mare value, £20-0-0 One Large Bay Mare value, 15-0-0 Two very Largo Milch Cows, 16-0-0 1 Large Heifer . . 4-0-0 2 Store Calves, 3-0-0 £58-0-0 For the above cattle which when taken were worth in Specie fifty -eight jwunds I do solemnly swear that I never received any compensation nor any person on my behalf. I do most solemnly Swear that in the month of July 1777, a quantity of corn as appraised by Col. Lewis & others to four acres, a Quantity of oats as appraised by Col. Lewis & others to three acres & Potatoes appraised by the same to one half acre were taken from me for the use of the Continental Army, for none of ■which I have received any compensation, nor any person on my behalf. James Higson. Washington ) County ) this day personally appeared before me James Higson and made oath in the presence of Almighty God that the above act. was Just and True Fort Edward 6th March, 1786. Adiel Sherwood Jus. : THE COUNTRY STRIPPED OF RESOURCES. 443 Edward, and everywhere destroying the roads, and preparing to drive and burn the country towards Albany."^ On the 15th of July, during the interim of Burgoyne's slow and toilsome progress from Skenesborough to Fort Edward, the records of the provincial congress show that Col. John Ashley was in command of a military station at the five mile run in the town of Queensbury. His force was sufficient to enable him to detach forty men as an escort for wagons to Fort George, and another party of half that number as a scout to South bay. About the same time a large fortified encampment was es- tablished on the height of ground across the Hudson at South Glen's Falls. Fort George was destroyed July the 16th.^ On, or about the same date, General Nixon with his brigade, sup- ported by about six hundred militia, was sent to Fort Anne to fell trees into Wood creek, and obstruct the roadway in the same manner so as to delay the advance of the enemy.' Previous to the advance of Burgoyne from Canada, it was well known to the committee of safety, that a regular system of communication had been established between the British leaders at the north and south. To intercept these despatches became an object of such vital importance to the success of the campaign, that General Schuyler was privately instructed to make careful and diligent inquiry, for some active, shrewd, intelligent, and courageous person both competent, self reliant, and above all, of thoroughly assured fidelity to the cause, who would take upon himself the delicate, difficult, and dangerous task of acting the part of a double spy. "While casting about for a suitable person to discharge this important trust, he fell in company No. 11. Permit from Col. Yates to Abraham Wing, .Junr., to keep a horse. Saratoga, Nov. 17th, 1777. I have considered about your Sons Horse and give him Leave to keep the Same until some higher Power shall order it otherwise. I also grant you Leave to keep a hunting gun in your house and forbid any one to take the same without orders from the general. I am Sir A True Copy Your friend & Hu Servt. Chkis: Yates To Abraham Wing ' Lossing's Life of Schuyler, vol. ii, p. 231. " Letter from Ooumrneur Morris, quoted in the journal of the provincial congress. ^ Letter from 8cTiuyUrto Washington, Washington Corr6spond6nc6,\o\. i,p. 399. 444 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. with an active, ardent whig by the name of Fish, who resided in what is now the town of Eastou, Washington county, !N". Y., who recommended to him Moses Harris ^ of Dutchess county, a young man of education, resources, self dependence, and great personal courage, as a most suitable person for the position. Harris was sent for, and had an interview with General Schuyler at Albany, and after considerable solicitation, he finally con- sented to undertake the arduous, and dangerous duty. A suit- able outfit was provided for him, and having received his in- structions, he entered upon the accomplishment of his task. One of the earliest settlers on the Bradshaw patent, was Gilbert, familiarly and traditionally called Gil. Harris. He was the owner of the well known Colviu, or thousand apple tree ' The name of Moses Harris jr. appears attached to the articles of association for Amenia precinct, Dutchess county, New York June and July, 1775. — Bev. Papers, vol. 1, p. 75. The name of Moses Harris, and most probably the father of the person herein mentioned, is spoken of in connection with the development and working of a lead mine in Dutchess county, August 17th, 1776. — Idem, vol. ii, p. 101. Moses Harris jr., whose name frequently appears in the town records of Queens- bury after the close of the revolutionary war, was a surveyor by profession, and a large per centage of the early road surveys of the town were made by him. A monument to his memory (erected by his grandson, the late John J. Harris) stands in the rural burial ground attached to the Episcopal church at Harrisena on which are engraved the following inscriptions : West Side. MOSES HARRIS. Died Nov, 13, 1838. Aged 89 years, 11 Mo's and 24 Days. North Side. In June, 1787, 1 moved with two of my brothers, William and Joseph Harris, on to the John Lawrence Patten, as you may see by the records in the Living's office of the county at that age in 1786. But now I am done with this world and race, and none but God shall say, where shall be my abiding place. South Side. He was a man that was true to his friends and his country. He was the man that carried the package for Gen. Schuyler and from Gen. Schuyler to Gen. Washington. It went, and without doubt was the instrument that put Gen. Burgoyne's journey to an end. He it was that bought the Patten granted to John Lawrence and others when wild ; and settled the same, being two thousand acres, to the benefit of his children and grandchildren. For which I think I ought to do something to his memory, — J. J. II, Grandson. MOSES HARRIS THE PATRIOT SCOUT. 445 farm, whicli originally embraced one square mile of the rich and fertile farm land in the north part of the town of Kingsbnry. He was a bitter, uncompromising royalist, and, although he was careful not to commit himself publicly by any overt action, he was one of the most efficient and energetic of the secret agenta employed by the British authorities for obtaining, and trans- mitting intelligence through the American lines to the officers commanding the royal armies both north and south. He had been a militia man at the capture of Port Royal, and con- sequently familiar with soldier life and discipline. This man was Moses Harris's uncle. Before the war they had been on quite friendly terms; had hunted and fished together at Lake George, and prospected in its neighborhood for the location of bounty lands, and soldiers' claims. To him Moses proceeded, and securing his confidence, gave him to understand that he had changed his views, 'that he was tired of the troubled and disturbed state of the country; and dissatisfied with the course pursued by the whigs, and, believing that the rebellion would be crushed out sooner or later, he had about come to the con- clusion to join the British array, unless some more congenial employment was offered.^ At this stage of aftairs the notorious Joseph Betteys seems to have been consulted, and to have com- pleted the negotiations and arrangements by which Harris was to act as a courier in conveying despatches between this point and Albany. He was conducted to a tory rendezvous on the Half-way brook in the vicinity of the settlement now known as Tripoli, where in an underground apartment, amply furnished with arms, ammunition and provisions, he was sworn to secrecy and fidelity, and the despatches here concealed, were delivered to him for transmission to one William Shepherd, a tory who occupied by arrangement an old tenement on the Patroon's creek, near the old Colonic in Albany, and who in turn, was to forward them to their destination for the British authorities down the river. The route pursued by Harris, took him at night to the house of Fish in Eastou, who lived about two miles from the river. Here the papers were transferred to Fish, who ' The main portions of this narrative were communicated to the author on the 11th of August, 1850, by Moses Harris, a son of the spy, who then stated his own age to be seventy-five years. It has been larjrely supplemented by information derived from Judj^c Hay who years before had reduced to writing the local tra- ditions and legends of this vicinity, and whose memory was usually good au- thority upon questions relating to American history. 446 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. hastened with them to Albany, where they were submitted to General Schuyler when present, and to his private secretary when absent, by whom they were carefully opened, examined, transcribed, sealed up and returned to Harris, who then resumed his journey, and deposited the papers in Shepherd's hands, re- ceiving at the same time his return message when there was one. Harris, in the meantime by his uncle's advice, stopped for refreshments at a tavern in the city, where he was on the best of terms with the partisans of freedom. This system was followed up for several weeks, when the British leaders finding their plans discovered and thwarted, suspicion fell upon Harris, and he was arrested at his uncle's house, taken to another of the secret rendezvous of the royalists, on an island in the big swamp east of Sandy Hill, where he was charged with his treachery and his life threatened ; but his cool self possession never for a moment forsook him, and he suc- ceeded in persuading them that they had done him great injustice, after which he resumed his duties. On another occasion, by previous arrangement and under- standing with General Schuyler for the purpose of averting sus- picion, he was arrested and thrown into jail in Albany, where he remained for several days, whence by 'collusion with the keeper who had his private instructions, he was permitted to escape, and went to Canada, where he was handsomely rewarded, and made much of by the authorities, and renegade tories. On this occasion he communicated false and deceptive in- telligence, agreed upon in Albany, and which was near bring- ing him into trouble. On his return from St. Johns, he was again entrusted with despatches, which in consequence of the sickness of Fish, he was obliged to take to Schuyler in person, and thence by his orders to Gen, Washington. Whether he was dogged by spies or by reason of previous suspicions. Shep- herd attempted to poison him for his defection ; and Jo. Bettcys having entrapped him he was obliged to flee for his life. He at this time took refuge witb one Dirk, or Died rich Swart, a whig living at Stillwater, a friend of General Schuyler, who had requested him to aftbrd Harris aid and protection in case of trouble. To complicate his dangers at this time. Swart in- formed him that one Jacob Bensen, a whig, had threatened to " put a ball thorough the cussed tory " under the supposition that he was a loyalist, and that he was lying in wait for him, THRILLING ADVENTURES OF A SPY. 447 for that purpose in the adjacent woods. Another danger almost as formidable arose from competition among the tories for the position of spy and messenger, and the enhanced pay that went with it, together with the consequence and considera- tion that the position gave. Among the rivals floated to the surface by the turbid current, were two loyalists named Caleb Closson and Andrew Rakely living in Kingsbury, and David Higginbottom, who had been a sergeant in the 31st British re- giment. On his last excursion, he was weakened by a wound he had received in one of his adventures, and exhausted by the pain and fatigue, he was forced to halt at brief intervals, stop- ping first with one Humighaus, a tory living on the south line of Fort Ann, and next at the house of Peter Freel at Fort Edward. From here he proceeded toward Fort Miller, but on the way was pursued by a scouting party of wbigs, and com- pelled to seek safety in flight across the river, and shelter in the house of Noah Payn, a whig who resided opposite to the block house at Fort Miller. His danger was so imminent that he was obliged to make known to the latter his relations to General Schuyler and the American army. His secret was faithfully kept, and Payn aflbrded him the needed protection, and rest, and assisted him on the way to Easton, giving him at the same time a letter of recommendation to Gen. Putnam a former townsman, neighbor, and friend of Payne.^ After the battle of Stillwater, and Burgoyne's surrender, Harris received (so runs the family tradition) a purse of one hundred guineas from General Schuyler for services, and after the close of the war a pension of ninety-six dollars per annum was awarded him by the government. After the war he re- turned to his favorite hunting haunts in the vicinity of Lake ' Alexander Bryant, who subsequently settled at Saratoga Springs, was sub- stituted as a confidential spy for Burgoyne's camp after the advance of the in- vading army to Fort Edward, where, as a pretended loyalist, he obtained valuable information, which was communicated to the officers of the American army by signals. Judge Hay, in a communication to the author, states in some of his manu- scripts that he had seen a certificate which was given to Moses Harris by General Schuyler, setting forth his faithful and important services and honorable discharge. That Schuyler liberally rewarded him, and referred him to congress for further compensation ; and further tendered him a letter of recommendation to General Washington for a position in the southern army. This, however, was declined, Harris asserting that all the tories this side of , should not drive him an inch. He was very near being made a prisoner with other residents of Queensbury at the time of the northern invasion in 1780. 448 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. George, where he purchased a tract of two thousand acres of land ^ to which, and the adjacent territory, the name of Harrisena was given, where the remainder of his life was passed amidst the tranquility of peaceful scenes, and where many of his de- scendants still reside. In a communication from Gouverneur Morris '^ at Saratoga dated July 17th to the council of safety, he says, " I left Fort Ed- ward with General Schuyler at noon, and shall return thither some time to-morrow morning. Fort George was destroyed yesterday afternoon, previous to which, the provisions, stores, batteaux, &c., were removed, and this morning at ten o'clock the last of them passed us about three miles to the northward of Fort Edward,^ at which place all the troops from the lake have ar- rived, and these, together with some others, form an advanced post towards Fort George ; ^ about twelve hundred, perhaps * Mr. Benjamin Harris states that tliere were 21 corners to this lot, that he bought of Lawrence, Boel and Tuttle, who had a king's patent which was surveyed by him in 1775. The three brothers Moses, Joseph and William came to settle on this tract in 1786. In the Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers there is record of 16 certificates of location for about 5000 acres of land in small parcels — adjoining the other main tract : all in favor of Moses Harris jr., occurring from 1786 to 1789. In the same authority p. 506, there is a return of survey Oct. 13, 1770, for two tracts of land of 3000 acres each within the bounds of the Robert Harpur patent sur- rendered to the crown, lying partly in Queensbury and partly in Fort Anne, to John Lawrence, Henry Boel and Stephen Tuttle. "^Journal of the New York Provincial Congress, vol. ii, p. 508. A letter from Matt Visscher at Albany, quoted on the same page dated on the 17th, stated that the stores from Fort George all are safely brought to Fort Edward, and that Major Yates with about 700 still possesses the former." ' On the 26tli of July Gen. Schuyler writes to General Washington as follows : " I find by letters from below, that an idea prevails that Fort Edward is a strong and regular fortification. " It was once a regular fortification, but there is nothing but the ruins of it left , and they are so utterly defenceless that I have frequently galloped my horse in on one side and out at the other. But when it was in the best condition possible, with the best troops to garrison it, and provided with every necessary, it would not have stood two days' siege after proper batteries had been opened. It is situated in a bottom on the banks of the river, and surrounded with hills from which the parade may be seen within point blank shot. 1 doubt not that it will be said that Fort Miller, Fort Saratoga, and Stillwater are considerable fortifica- tions, of neither of which is there a trace left although they still retain their names." — Lossing's Schuyler, voX.ii, pp. 248-9. * Gen. Washington having stated in a letter to Gen. Schuyler as follows : " They say, that a spirited, brave, judicious officer with two or three hundred good men, together with the armed vessels you have built, would retard General Burgoyne's passage across the lake for a considerable time." General Schuyler replies Juno 18th as follows : " The fort was part of an un- HARSH MEASURES. 449 more are somewhat further advanced upon the road to Fort Anne. The enemy have not jet made any motion that we know of, nor indeed can they make any of consequence until they shall have procured carriages, and then they may find it rather difficult to come this way, if proper care be taken to pre- vent them from procuring forage. For this purpose I shall give it as my opinion to the general, whenever he asks it, to break up all the settlements upon our northern frontier, to drive off the cattle, secure or destroy the forage, etc. ; and also to destroy the saw mills. " These measures, harsh as they may seem, are, I am con- fident, absolutely necessary. They ought undoubtedly to be taken with prudence, and temperately carried into execution. But I will venture to say, that if we lay it down as a maxim never to contend for ground but in the last necessity, to leave nothing but a wilderness to the enemy, their progress must be impeded by obstacles which it is not in human nature to sur- mount; and then, unless we have, with our usual good nature, built posts for their defence, they must at the approach of winter retire to the place from whence they at first set out. The militia from the eastward come in by degrees, and I expect we shall soon be in force to carry on the jyeUte guerre to advantage, provided, always, Burgoyne attempts to annoy us, for it is pretty clear that we cannot get at him." At the near approach of the enemy, the women and children had been collected under escort, and sent forward within the American lines to places of quiet and security for protection. Most of the residents of Queensbury, who desired to avail them- selves of the privilege, took refuge in Dutchess county. Some few remained behind, depending for safety upon their principles of non-resistance and their faith and reliance in God's protection. The scene of this general flitting, expedited by the frequent finislied bastion of an intended fortification. The ba,stion was closed at the gorge. In it was a barrack capable of containing between thirty and fifty men ; without ditch, without wall, without cistern ; without any picket to prevent an enemy from running over the wall ; so small as not to contain over one hundred and fifty men ; commanded by ground greatly overlooking it, and within point blank shot ; and so situated that five hundred men may lie between the bastion and the lake from this extremely defensible fortress. Of the vessels built there, one was atioat and tolerably fitted, the other still upon the stocks ; but, if the two had been upon the water, they would have been of little use without rigging or guns." — Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, vol. iv, p. idi. 57 450 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. appearance of small bands of armed savages, is thus graphically portrayed by another.^ " The roads were filled with fugitives ; men leading little children by the hand, women pressing their infant offspring to their bosoms, hurrying forward in utmost consternation, from the scene of danger. Occasionally passed a cavalcade, two and even three mounted on a single steed, panting under its heavy load; sometimes carrying a mother and her child, while the father ran breathless by the horse's side. Then came a pro- cession of carts drawn by oxen, laden with furniture hastily collected ; and here and there, mingling with the crowd of vehicles, was seen many a sturdy husbandman followed by his household and driving his domestic animals before him." After the engagement at, and the evacuation of Fort Anne, an interval of nearly three w^eeks elapsed before Burgoyne com- menced making his advance to Fort Edward. This delay ^ was fatal to his success. It gave the Americans time to rally from the stupefying blow of defeat. "Washington issued his proclama- tion to the militia of -western Massachusetts and Connecticut for help. It was read from pulpits and market places of Kew England, and thousands responded to the call. Various reasons have been assigned for this neglect on the part of Burgoyne to improve his first brilliant successes. The following is given by an English writer,^ who strives to make all the events of the campaign enure to the credit of the British arms. " It may not be improper to relate here one of those stratagems in which the genius of the Americans, during the whole course of the war, was remarkably fertile. Schuyler took out of a canteen with a false bottom, a letter from a person in the interest of the provincials to General Sullivan, and prepared " Wilson's Life of Jane McCrca, p. 80. " Although this interval, as has been stated in the text, was actively Improved by the Americans in ])lacinoi obstructions in the streams and roadways, it appears by the testimony given by Earl Balcarras on the court martial which investigated this affair, that the British army was about six or seven days in making the road from Skenesborough to Fort Anne ; that the advance of the army was not delayed an hour on account of the roads ; that the rebels had made a very good road from Fort Anne to Fort Edward the year before ; and, that the few obstructions placed on the route were removed by the provincials of the British army in a few hours. Burgoyne's despatclies show tliat his head quarters were at Skenesborough during this intf^rval ; and there are traditions related of liigh revel and debauch, ■which rendered him unfit for hisposition.and the jjroper discharge of his duties. — See State of the Expedition, Appendix XLii. ^ Stedman's American War, vol. i, p. 326. GENERAL BURGOYNE'S MOVEMENTS. 451 an answer to it, drawn up in such a strain as to perplex and distract Burgoyne, and leave him in doubt what course to follow. This letter, which fell, as was intended into the English general's hand, had the desired effect, for he was completely- duped and puzzled by it for several days, and at a loss whether to advance or retreat." At length this unnatural quiet was broken. Burgoyne, who, on the 21st, had gone forward in person on a reconnoitering expedition in the direction of Fort Edward, having received in- telligence of the arrival of his long expected supphes from Eng- land, finally ordered a forward movement. The right wing under Eraser advanced on the 22d, and went into camp near Gordon's house at Kingsbury street. On the 26th Riedesel sent back from Skeuesborough to Ticouderoga the bateaux loaded with the sick and disabled, the superfluous baggage and stores, the former of which were to be consigned to hospital at the fort ; the latter with the boats to be transported across the portage, and shipped to the head of Lake George. To expedite the march, boats were sent forward with necessary baggage by the way of Wood creek to Fort Anne. On the morning of the same day, the outposts of the American array stationed at Moss street, three miles north of Sandy Hill, were driven in, and a sharp skirmish ensued at that place, with an advanced party of British, provincials and Indians, in which several of the Americans were killed and wounded. The sur- vivors, with the remaining outposts and picket guard, retreated to Fort Edward, to seek such shelter as its crumbled embank- ments could afford. At noon the family of John Allen ^ of Argyle (a loyalist), consisting of himself, his wife and her sister, three children, and three negroes, slaves owned by his father- in-law Gilmore, nine persons in all, were butchered while at dinner by a party of savages under the command of Le Loup a Wyandot chief, who headed a force of Burgoyne's dusky allies.^ ' " The massacre at Allen's was caused by his endeavor to prevent the savages from appropriating to their own use the food that had been prepared for his family's dinner. Such murders were not confined to copper colored savages, for about that time, at Fort Miller, Israel Fuller was slain by John Newell, who was [in turn] killed, as well as Capt. Sherwood, and many more like them [being a part of the detachment of Col. Baum] at Walloomschaick." — Judge Hay's Narra- tive. ■^ Before the campaign was over Burgoyne said he " would have given all his Indians, provincials, and volunteers, for fifty British troops." — Lossing's Life of tSchuyler, vol. ii, p. 384. 452 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBTJRY. On the same day, and in the sarae neighborhood, a family by the name of Barnes was massacred.^ Also the same day and by the same hands John White was murdered on their route from Allen's house to Fort Edward.^ The following morning occurred the famous Jane McCrea tragedy, in which by the same ruthless, bloodthirsty hand, that hapless maiden was killed, and Lieut. Van Vechteu and several soldiers stationed on Fort Edward hill as an advanced picket post were shot. The scalps of all were taken.^ The bodies of the two former were stripped of their clothing, and rolled part way down a hill de- scending to a ravine toward the river. Here the bodies were found the following morning by a tile of soldiers sent out in search. The main body of the American army had already moved down the river, (on the 26th) to Moses kill, where the engineers corps, of whom the celebrated Polish patriot Kosciusko was .chief, had selected a commanding point, and recommended that it be fortified with a view to opposing the enemy's further progress. Here the American army now lay encamped. Col. John McCrea, Jenny's brother, had been, left behind in charge of the rear guard, and now lingered with the last bateau load of stores, in waiting for the remains of his sister. Two women whom he had brought from his home opposite Fort Miller for that purpose, prepared the body for burial. The fort was abandoned and with the two bodies, accompanied by an escort in advance, the last detachment of American soldiers, that lay between the navigable waters of the Hudson and Burgoyne's army, moved forsvard to the southward. The bodies were buried by the banks of a small stream about three miles below the fort. Through the activity and vigilance of General Phillips, to whom, states Burgoyne,* " I had committed the important part ' Wilson's Life of Jane McCrea, p. 106. ^ Manuscript of Judge Hay . 'William Qriffing,' a tory, wlio lived a short distance east of tlio Baker and Hoffnaofle place on Sandy Hill, kept a tavern which was quite a place of resort for the tories during the war. Here the exultant party of Indians brought and exhibited the reeking scalp of Jane McCrea. — Relation of Miss Keziah Baker. * State of the Expedition. London, 1780, p. 12. From the 11th of July, General Phillips had charge of the duty of forwarding boats and transporting supplies across the portage and through Lake George. In one of his despatches Burgoyne says, " in the mean time, fill possible diligence is using at Ticonderoga to get the ' After the close of the war, Grilling removed with his family to the neighborhood of French mounliiiu where he died. GENEKAL BURGOYNE'S MOVEMENTS. 453 of forwarding all the necessaries from Ticonderoga, a great embarkation arrived at Fort George ^ on July 29th. I took possession of the country near Fort. Edward on the same day." The draught horses, carts and cattle were at the same time for- warded up the west side of the lake by a road leading through Indian hollow, that had been cut through the wilderness during the last years of the French war. Passing through " the pitch pine plains in the march from Fort Ann to Fort Edward," ^ Burgoyne made a temporary halt in the north part of Kingsbury, establishing his head quarters at the farm house of John Jones a loyalist. The Hessians under Riedesel were encamped in the vicinity of the old burial ground back of the Baker place, the grenadiers lay at Moss street about two miles north of Sandy Hill, and the light infantry under Eraser, which at first bi- vouacked near head quarters, was in a short period moved for- ward into camp at the top of Fort Edward hill.^ The Indians and tories in flying parties on the flanks scoured the country in every direction, committing murder, rapine, and outrage as they went. The greater portion of the dwellings of Kingsbury, Queensbury, and Fort Edward were burnt.* An American whose name has not been handed down, was hung by a band of tories on the yellow pine tree, whose stump still remains opposite the old Buckbee place, on the road to Sandy Hill.^ The fortified camp at South Glen's Falls ^ vvas gun boats, provision vessels, and a proper quantity of bateaux into Lake George. A corps of the army will be ordered to penetrate by that route, which will after- wards be the route for the magazines, and a junction of the whole is intended at Fort Edward." ' The British had taken possession of Fort George, or what remained of it, the same day it was evacuated by the Americans. '' Sic. State of the Expedition, p. 34. In a map of the country made at this time the region east of the road running through Kingsbury to Fort Edward is named the open pine plains. ^Barber's Historical Collections of N. T., p. 347. * " The other day I came across a statement of McCracken's that the British de- stroyed Kingsbury, Queensbury and part of Fort Edward in 1777, under Bur- goyne." — Dr. E. B. 0' Callaglian to the author. Other testimony is sufficient and conclusive to the same effect. * Tradition in the Moon family related by Mrs. Peter Peck. Suspected persona on either side, had in those days but short shrift and scant mercy. Burgoyne writing to Lord George Germaine says : " Another most embarrassing circum- stance is the want of communication with Sir William Howe. Of the messengers I have sent, I know of two being hanged, and am ignorant whether any of the rest arrived. The same fate has probably attended those despatched by Sir William for only one letter has come to hand." — Memoirs of John Stark, p. 73. ® L(}ssin(/'s Field Book of the Mevolution, vol. i, p. 77. 454 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. abandoned. A brisk engagement was held between a party of tories and Americans who had entrenched themselves near Doe's Corners at the foot of Palmertown mountain, in which the latter were defeated and driven off with some loss. Mention has been made of Michael Hoffnagle, Baker's partner ia the mills at Sandy Hill. He was a tory, and after Burgoyne's surrender, with many other loyalists sought safety and refuge in Canada. His daughter Hannah, who was brought up in the same house with Albert Baker jr. (as the two families lived together), married Samuel Harris, a brother of Jonathan Harris, who, at a later period carried on the business of hatting on Sandy Hill. At the time of Burgoyne's advance, they were residents at Moss street, where, after the war, she and her husband lived to raise a large family. She was one day, while at work baking, having just taken abatch of biscuit from the oven, surprised by a party of In- dians who rushed in, seized, and bound her, and took the baby from the cradle, a prisoner also. One of the numberof her dusky tormentors, took the cradle quilt, a handsome and elaborate patchwork affair, the love labor of young maternity, and filled it with the smoking hot biscuit just from the oven. With other prisoners the young mother and her babe were hurried along on a forced march toward Canada. Coming along, shortly after her start, to a party of Hessians, she made a piteous appeal to them in herfather's native tongue, when without command, but with one consent, they drew their long sabres, and advanced upon the Indians in a resolute and threatening manner, which caused the latter to retire to the woods, abandoning their victims but carrying off the blanket and the biscuit, while the mother joyfully seized her child and returned in safety to her home.^ ' Relation of Miss Keziah Baker, who also tells the folio win fy quaint anecdote of the Hessians. DuHcan Shaw, a Scotchman, who had for his neighbors the Gril- christs and McDougalls, lived east of Dunham's basin, on the corner leading to Argyle. Here the Hessians came day after day during Burgoyne's advance calling for " Meelick, Meelick ;" nntil finally the old lady's patience became exhausted, and in language more forcible than elegant told them she had no more milk for them, unless they ripped open the Hessians to get it. GEN. SCHUYLER RELIEVED OF COMMAND. 455 CHAPTER Xin. General Gates assumes the Command op the Northern Army — General Riedesbl ordered to John's Farm — Arrival of Madame Riedesel at the Head of Lake George — Affair at Diamond Island — British Garrison at Fort Edward made Pri- soners BY General Stark — Surrender of Burqoyne's Army — Trial of General Schuyler — Election of Town Officers in 1778 — Disturbances at Fort Edward — Seizure of Serenus Parks the Tory — Tory Raids and Reprisals — Affair at Fort Miller — Arrest of Old Moses Harris by the Tories — Cap- ture OP Oliver Graham — Visit op Tories to Johnstown. [jN" the first of August, Genl. Schuyler was ordered by a resolution of congress to report at headquarters, and, at the same time, the commander-in-chief was required to designate some general ofiicer to assume the command, thus vacated. The clamor of the ISTew England representatives had finally wrought its work, and their pressing demands at length secured from congress the appointment of General Gates to the command of the northern army. Thus was lost to the service through dishonorable intrigue, and po- litical mismanagement in the interest of ambitious rivals, one of the most capable executive oflicers in the country. Gates did not join the army until the 19th. In the meantime the battle of Bennington had been fought and won. Hundreds of the militia from the east, aroused by the threatened danger, had rallied responsive to the appeal for help, and were wending their way to the American camp, under the command of the cool and intrepid Lincoln. Col. Morgan with his veteran corps of riflemen had been detached from the southern army and sent north to cooperate in the attempt to check Burgoyne's ad- vance. The American army having retired down the river first to Saratoga,^ and afterwards to the sprouts of the Mohawk, where on the Delta and neighboring main land they en- trenched themselves, Burgoyne had advanced^ in the direction ^ " In a letter to Genl. Putnam, dated Germantown, 7tli August, 1777, Washing- ton says, "by the last accounts, our army had fallen down to Saratoga." — Life and Writings of Washington, vol. v, p. 23. ^ The royal army moved forward to Fort Edward, and took possession of that post on the 30th of July. On arriving at the Hudson, the English ' were seized 456 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEEN8BURY, of Albany as far as Fort Miller where he made his head quarters at the residence of Judge Duer, then a meml5er of congress, and who was at that time in attendance upon his official duties. His main army at this time was encamped near the confluence of the Batten kill with the Hudson, A bridge of boats was thrown across the river, over which Fraser's corps passed and occupied the heights of Saratoga, where he established a forti- fied camp.^ " On the 8th of August, General Riedesel was detached with three battalions to John's farm,^ between Forts George and Edward, for the purpose, not only of covering the communica- tion with Fort George, but to promote the conveyance of the convoy to the army. There, in that place, he was completely cut off from the army ! So he entrenched himself in a strongly fortified camp, that he might be able to defend himself to the last man."^ From this time to the 11th of September, he was busily en- gaged in the transportation of baggage, supplies, and war material from the head of Lake George to the army below. " Those articles however, which might be more needed, were only sent back as far as Diamond island in Lake George, seven miles from Fort George, that they might be close at hand in case of need. At the same time two companies of the 47th regiment were sent with them as a garrison ; only thirty men and one officer being left at Fort George, as the communica- tion with the lake was to be given up for the present. In pur- suance with this plan the two companies of the 53d regiment with a delirium of joy.' It was the point to which they had long looked forward with the utmost eagerness. It had been reached at last, at the expense of, as it ultimately proved, the entire enterprise and venture. ' Lossinff's Life of Schuyler, vol. ii, p. 293. ^ Stone's Translation of the Memoirs of Baroness Riedesel^ p. 97, from which the following note is also transcribed. " This farm was immediately north of Half- Way brook, two miles from the present pretty village of Glen's Falls." I may be permitted to add that the late Judge Hay in some of his writings con- curred in the above statement. This locality was the site of Fort Amherst of the French war ; wliile the place of Riedesel's fortified camp, tradition locates at the Garrison ground, elsewhere spoken of, about one-third of a mile below, and on the opposite or south side of the stream. ^ In Stone's Memoirs of General Riedesel, vol. i, p. 137, John's farm is located at Brown's half-way house. The reasons or authority for this opinion are not given. The statement is manifestly an error, and inconsistent with other por- tions of the same narrative. MOVEMENTS AGAINST DIAMOND ISLAND. 457 which hud been hitherto stationed at Fort George, were sent to Ticonderoga, to reinforce that post."^ The entrenchments and post at Diamond island were placed in the command of Captain Aubrey, of the 47th, and before his communications with the army were cut off, his force was strengthened by the addition of a company of artillery.^" In the mean time, through the courtesy of General Burgoyne who had dispatched Captain Willoe as her escort, he was joined by his wife, the Baroness Riedesel, whose gracious womanly memoirs^ have long made her name a household word along the line of Burgoyne's march. Accompanied by her three ciiildren, all daughters, she arrived at noon, on the 14th of August, at the head of Lake George, where they were entertained by Col. Anstruther, " an exceedingly good and amiable man" to quote the words of the baroness. He was colonel of the 62d regi- ment. In the afternoon, seated in a calash they proceeded by the way of Wing's Corners, through Queensbury, to Fort Edward, where on the 15th they were joined by the general, who had left with the army* the day before. It was about this time, or perhaps a little earlier, that a flank movement had been planned against Fort George by the way of Sacandaga river with the view of cutting otf the enemy's supplies and communication. This undertaking was abandoned, or rather merged in the larger enterprise by which the forces rapidly accumulated and con- centrated through the Hampshire grants, simultaneously ad- vanced against Skenesborough, Fort Anne and Ticonderoga in separate detachments under the command respectively of Colonels Brown, Johnson and Woodbridge, General Warner with Colonel Johnson, near Mount Independence, having the general direction of ti.e three parties; and General Lincoln at Pawlet the oversight of the entire movement. The following succinct account of the enterprise is in Burgoyne's own words. ' Memoirs of General Riedesel translated by William L. Stone, vol. i, pp. 124-5. " " In 1813, when the compiler was first at Diamond island, its entrenchments were in good preservation, and a house, on the south end of the island, was occu- pied by an eccentric Englishman who styled himself Adam Larkin, commodore of Lake George, and governor of Diamond island." — MSS. of the late Judge Hay. ' These memoirs, for some years out of print, were retranslated with corrections and emendations, by William L. Stone, the younger historian of that name, and published by Munsell in 1867. *■ The Lady Harriet Ackland also accompanied this expedition from Fort Ed- ward down, being a participant in its hardships, exposures and dangers up to the time of the final surrender. 58 458 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. " During the events stated above, an attempt was made against Ticonderoga by an army assembled under Major Gene- ral Lincoln, who found means to march with a considerable corps from Huberton' undiscovered, while another column of his force passed the mountains between Skenesborough and Lake George, and on the morning of the 18th of September, a sudden and general attack was made upon the carrying place at Lake George,^ Sugar Hill, Ticonderoga, and Mount Independence. ***** On the 24th inst. (September), the enemy enabled by the capture of the gunboats and bateaux which they had made after the surprise of the sloop, to embark upon Lake George, attacked Diamond island in two divisions. Capt. Aubrey, and two companies of the 47th regiment had been posted at that island from the time the army passed the Hudson's river, as a better situation for the security of the stores at the south end of Lake George, than Fort George, which is the continent, and not tenable against artillery and numbers. The * Sic. Hubbardton, Vt. " " The following extract from a letter written by Colonel Brown to General Gates, dated ' Nortli end of Lake George, September 18, 1777, ' and published in the newspapers of the time, gives the particulars of his success against the enemy. ' With great fatigue, after marching all last night, I arrived at this place at break of day and after the best disposition of the men I could make, immediately began the attack, and, in a few minutes, carried the place. I then, without loss of time, detached a considerable part of my men to the mill, where a great number of the enemy were posted, who also were made prisoners ; a small number of whom, having taken possession of a block house in that vicinity, were, with more difficulty brought to submission ; but at the sight of the cannon they surrendered. During these seasons of successes. Mount Defiance also fell into our hands. I have taken possession of the old French lines at Ticonderoga. I have sent a flag demanding a surrender of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence in the strongest and most peremptory terms. I have had as yet no infoi-mation of Colonel Johnson's attack on the Mount. My loss of men in these several actions is not more than three or four killed, and five wounded, the enemy's loss is less. I find myself in possession of 293 prisoners, * * * and retook more than one hundred of our men. * * * The water craft I have taken, is one hundred and fifty bateaux, above the Falls ; in Lake Champlain fifty above the Falls, including several large gun boats, and an armed sloop ; arms equal to the number of prisoners ; some ammunition ; and many other things, which I cannot as yet ascertain. I must not forget to mention a few cannon, which may be of great service to us. ' " — Sparks's Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. ii, p. 530, note. In regard to the demand for surrender, Burgoyne says in his letter to Lord George Gerinaiue quoted above, — " The enemy having summoned Brigadier General Powell, and received such answer as becanie a gallant officer entrusted with so important a post, and having tried daring the coursi; of four days, several attacks, and being repulsed in all, retreated without having done any considerable damage. " — State of the Expedition, Appendix. ATTACK UPON DIAMOND ISLAND. 459 enemy were repulsed by Captain Aubrey with great loss,^ and pursued by the gun-boats under his coramand to the east shore, where two of their principal vessels were retaken, together with all the cannon. They had just time to set fire to the other bateaux, and retreated over the mountains."^ The garrison left by Burgoyne at Fort Edward were a few days afterward made prisoners by General Stark, who advanced upon that fort with a body of one thousand of the hardy yeo- manry of New Hampshire. A few days later it was increased to twenty-five hundred men and he moved down the river with this formidable and hourly increasing force, closing up the avenues of retreat toward the north.^ During this interval, the Americans had possessed themselves of the high grounds be- tween Fort Edward and Fort George, where they had thrown up entrenchments, protected by artillery.* On the night of the 11th of October Burgoyne held a con- sultation with Generals Riedesel and Phillips, explaining his embarrassments and soliciting their advice. " General Riedesel proposed to leave the baggage and retreat on this (the west) side of the Hudson," and " to cross the river four miles above Fort Edward, and continue the march to Fort George."^ They were informed that a detachment of Americans were already throwing up a redoubt at this point and were prepared to dispute its passage,^ The end was rapidly approaching. The country in the rear was swarming with roving bands of volunteer militia, burning with patriotic ardor. In front lay an army of veterans of more than double his own numbers.'^ ^ The British, batteries were planted at the north end of the island. After Colonel Brown's repulse he was driven into Van Wormer's bay, when, after destroying his bateaux, he made his way across the Dresden mountains to Skenesborough, which had been taken possession of by Genl. Lincoln on the 17th -with a force of 700 men. — Judge Hay's manuscript, also Letter of General Lincoln to the council of Massachusetts. . " Letter from J. Burgoyne to Lord George Germaine. Albany, 20th October, 1777. * Memoirs of John Stark, pp. 74-5. * Sears' s Pictorial History of the Revolution, p. 261. * See map on page 341 where the old fording place and road toward Saratoo-a is laid down. It crossed the Sandy Hill road about a mile east of the village of Glen's Falls. The quotation in the text is from the Memoirs of General Riedesel, (Stone's translation) vol. i, p. 173. ^ Lossing's Life of General Schuyler, vol. ii, p. 374. t ' " The exact number of Gates's army, not counting the troops on the other side of the Hudson, was 2:^,850 men." — Stone's Memoirs of Gen. Riedesel, vol. i, p. 189, note. 460 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. With a fatuity that no reasoning can account for, he had volun- tarily abandoned his communications and destroyed the roads and bridges on the route of his retreat. Harassed incessantly by foes once vanquished and despised " the vaunting general, who had boasted in the British capital that with ten thousand men he could march through the whole rebel country at pleasure, found himself"* obliged to capitulate. The treaty or convention was signed on the 16th of October, and the follow- ing day, the army that had moved forward so proudly to triumph and conquest, laid down its arms. The country at large breathed free. The first great blow for freedom had been struck ; but the scarred fields and blackened roof trees of Queensbury, showed that something more than the peaceful tenets of the Quakers was needed to arrpstthe ravages, and check the bold license of relentless war.^ As has already been stated, a few families remained here during all this struggle. "With the new born promise of peace, the scattered and fugitive settlers returned and rebuilt their ruined homesteads, and resumed the avocations of peaceful industry.^ ^Stone's Life of Brant (1st edition), vol. i, p. 232. " Immediately after the capitulation General Gates dispatched the following letter to General Stark. Camp at Saratofja, October 18, 1777. Dear Sir : Inclosed, I send you an exact copy of the convention signed by General Burgoyne, and ratified by me. I will forward ever^'thing necessary for your assistance ; Colonel Warner had my verbal instructions last evening. Let me very frequently hear from you by express, and be sure to keep a sharp look out upon Lake George and South bay, and between Fort Ann and Fort Edward. I am, dear general, Your affectionate Humble servant The Hon'ble Brig. Gen'l. Stark. — Memoir, p. 140. Horatio Gates. ' The two following extracts from the Wing Manuscripts go to show the con- tinued occupancy of the settlement. I. '^OTicK of a Friends' Meeting with visitors from abroad. — Extract from Abra- ham Wing's Pocket Memorandum. 3d mo. G, 1778. George Dillwyn from Burlington in West Jersey accompanied by Edward Hal- lock, Isaac Vail and Paul Upton of the Nine Partners monthly meeting, were here and had a meeting. II. Memorandum concerning some horses left icith Abraham Wing. Lake George the 12th Day of June A D 1778. Mr. Abraham Wing I Cant have my Horses carried to Ticonderoga at Present and If you will Keep 2 Horses for me until the Hurry is over and then will send them up to Leonard Joneses and Desire him to send them to Ticonderoga and 1 AFTER BUEGOYNE'S SURRENDER. 461 • Buro^oyne's surrender was shortly follo^Yed by the evacuation of the British forts and forces not previously captured/ as far north as Crown Point, and all the intermediate posts to Fort Edward were abandoned; thus, for a brief period, the harried and harassed denizens of the northern border had rest. About this time was the beginning of the famous Gates- Conway cabal. In contemplation of a hostile movement against Canada, afterwards abandoned as impracticable, Gene- ral Lafayette was placed in temporary command of the northern department. Washington knew nothing of this proposed inva- sion until, as the head of the army, he received the official notice of Lafayette's appointment to the command. The great and astute chieftain lent the enterprise his countenance and encouragement, but such was the deplorable condition of the country, the destitution of supplies, and demoralized state of the array, that notwithstanding a portion of the expedition had already gathered at Albany, a consultation between Lafayette, Schuyler, Lincoln and Arnold, the latter two of whom were slowly recovering from wounds received at Saratoga, the enter- prise was reluctantly given up. During the fall, and while this project was still pending, a large scouting party of Indians was send me an account What tlie cost is I will send you the money or cum this way & Pay you If I may Leave it at Leonard Joneses it will be the Handiest for me. I shall be glad to have them have good Pasture. This from yours to sarve. «&c David Welch To mr Abraham Wing ' Thomas Chittenden, President of the Vermont Council to General Gates. " In Council, Bennington 23 November, 1777. Dear General, — I have the pleasure to inform your Honor of the success of our Green mountain rangers in harassing the enemy's rear, on their retreat from Ticonderoga, in which Capt. Ebeuezer Allen, with fifty rangers has taken forty- nine prisoners, upwards of one hundred horses, twelve yokes of oxen, four cows, and three of the enemy's boats, &c., &c. Major Wait, who was sent to take possession of Mount Independence, found nothing of consequence, excepting several boats which the enemy had sunk, in which there were some provisions. All barracks, houses, and bridges were burnt ; cannon, to the number of forty, broken and spiked up. He was so fortunate as to take one French sutler, with some rum, wine, brandy, &c. Agreeably to your Honor's request for Colonel Warner to come to Albany, express Avas sent, and he is to set oif for Albany this morning. I have the honor to be, by order of Council, Tour Honor's most obedient, humble servant, Thomas Chittenden, President. N. B. — I beg your Honor's directions how to dispose of the prisoners." — Sparks's Letters to Washington, vol. ii, p. 531. 462 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. reported as being discovered on the Sacandaga, threatening an attack of the settlements on the Mohawk river.^ During the respite from active hostilities that ensued upon the approach of winter, the committee of congress, which had been appointed to investigate the affairs of the northern depart- ment,^ reported the result of their labors to that body, by whom General Washington was instructed to order a court martial for the trial of General Schuyler, on the charge of neglect of duty. This was done at his own urgent solicitation. The trial was delayed through various causes and influences, all of which do not probably now appear. The court, of which General Lin- coln was president, finally assembled on the first of October following (1778), at the house ^ of Reed Ferriss (one of the early proprietors of the township of Queensbury), in the town of Pawling, Dutchess county, N. Y., near Washington's late head- quarters at Quaker Hill. A thorough and exhaustive examina- tion of the evidence resulted in a verdict of not guilty, and the brave and patriotic general stood triumphantly vindicated before the world. Too late, however, for his proud and sorely tried spirit to overlook the past, or forget the unmerited con- tumely cast upon him. His martial career was ended, and ano- ther had entered into and reaped the rich harvest of his pre- scient forethought, ceaseless care, and unwearying labors. The great military operations of the next two years being removed to the southern part of the state, the seaboard, and navigable streams, where the powerful British fleet could lend its efficient cooperation, but little remains to be recorded during that period in regard to public events in this region. A small garrison was retained at Fort Edward,* which, for several months, was the frontier post on the great northern military route. ' Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i, p. 291. "Oa the 30tliof January the committee was ordered to proceed in the discharge of its duty, and its report was submitted to congress on the 5th of February fol- lowing. — Vide Lossing's Life of Schuyler, vol. ii, pp. 314-15. " This building is said to be still standing. * Even this slight barrier it was proposed to abandon the following winter as appears by the following extract of a letter from Gen. Washington to General Stark, dated 8th October, 1778. " I would not have you build barracks at Fort Edward. The troops now there may winter at Saratoga, where are good barracks for three hundred men. " If there should be a necessity of keeping a small command at Fort Edward, a hut or two may be easily erected for that purpose." — Memoir of General Stark, p. 192. TOWN EECORDS. 463 The town book from which the following record is taken, exhibits the usual election of town officers for the spring of 1778. " At an annual town meeting held in Queensbury on Tuesday ye 5 Pay of May 1778 for the Township of Queensbury : i 1 voted. Abraham Wing, Moderator. " 2 voted. Benjamin "Wing, Town Clerk. 3 voted. Abraham Wing, Supervisor. 4 voted. James Iligson, Constable. 5 voted. John Graves, Constable. 6 voted. Ebenezer Fuller, Phihehas Babcock and !N"ehemiah Sealey, Assessors. 7 voted. Ebenezer Fuller, Pathmaster. | 8 voted. Nehemiah Sealey and Benjamin Wing, Overseers of ; the Poor. i 9 voted. Phinehas Babcock, Collector. 10 voted. Abraham Wing, Town treasurer. j 11 voted. Abraham Wing, Jur., Pound keeper. ' 12 voted. Neliemiah Sealey and Benjamin Wing, Viewers of fence and prizers of Damage." The acrimonious feelings engendered by the hot partisan strife, which had enlisted in the fierce conflict of arms, all the worst attributes of human nature, and, but too often, found brothers and even father and son arrayed against each other I in hostile camps, after the storm of battle passed by, found ex- I pression in a vindictive determination to rid the county of Charlotte of the tory element, always defiant, malicious and cruel, and which, for a twelve month had been dominant and exultant throughout its wide spread borders^ The foUowiug ' Extract of a letter from Duncan Campbell to John McKesson. " Argyle Dec. 12tli, 1777. " Sir — Some fiery men openly declare that they %vill drive off all the Scots and Irish as tories from Argyle and New Perth, so that unless the good legislature interposes and help, then Canada and the depths of poverty will be our final doom." — Journal of the N. T. Procincial Congress, vol. ii, p. 351. Part of a letter from Jno. Younglove commissioner of sequestrations for the northern department of county of Albany, to the president of the council of safety, dated Cambridge (Charlotte county), December 2d, 1777. " There is likewise another set of men that took protection and then went home to their work ; we want to know what to do with them, and concerning their es- tates. There is likewise a set of them that has been with Burgoyne through the campaign; and just before the capitulation, ran from him and came home, and now are devouring the, provisions that the friends suffer for ; and the populace is 464 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. letter from General Stark, who had been in command of the northern department since the opening of spring/ to the com- mandant of" the post at Fort Edward, throws some Hght upon the disturbed and unsettled state of the country, at this time. " Albany, May 21, 1778. "To Colonel Safford, Sir : Doctor Smith complains that the troops at Fort Edward are turning out the inhabitants and de- stroying the buiklings at that place. I should be glad that such disorders should be suppressed, and the inhabitants' property secured. "I received a letter from you, directed to General Conway, in- forming him that you expected that the cannon would be at Fort Anne. I should be glad to know where they are now?^ You mentioned teams to be sent from this place. Col. Lewis not being here, lean give no information in that matter.' I ex- pect him soon, when I can give you an account. Keep a good look out for the enemy, so that they do not come upon you unawares. " Your most obedient humble servant, "John Stark.'' The following month Serenus Parks, a tory residing near the Harris settlement in the north part of the town, was arrested as appears by the following communication occurring among the Wing papers.^ determined to drive them off or kill tliem. If something is not speedily done with them, we fear the consequence, if they are left amongst us." — Journal of the N. T. Provincial Congress, vol. ii, p. 351. '" Early in 1777 he was ordered to assume the command of the northern de- partment at Albany. For this service, he had very few reliable troops, and was obliged to depend for support, at times, upon the militia." — Memoir of John Stark, p. 80. "^ On the 24th of May, Gen. Stark writes to Gates that he had been informed by Colonel Safford, that all the cannon had been brought by him as far as Fort Anne." — Memair of John Stark, p. 151. Idem, p. 158. Stark writes (p. 151), that he expects an attack, as the enemy's vessels are coming near Crown Point. * The following extract from a letter of General Stark to the president of the New Hampshire congress will give some idea of the disturbed state of the country at this time. " They (the people) do very well in the hanging way. They hanged nine on the IGtli of May, on the 5th of June nine ; and have one hundred and twenty in jail, of which, 1 believe, more than one half will go the same way. Murder and robberies are committed every day in this neighborhood. So you may j udge of my situation, with the enemy on my front, and the devil in my rear." Dated Albany, 28th June, ms. — Memoir of Gen. Stark, p. 173. PARTISAN STRIFE. 465 "Stillwater, 18th of June, 1778, " Sir we have Received yours of the 16th Inst, in which you have Sent us mr. Parks & Jackson's Crime as Pr. Complaint, we let you know that our Next meeting will be at the house of James Swarts at Saratoga on Thursday the 26th Inst, and as by order of Convention we are the Proper Judges of Persons of our own district in actions cognizable before a Sub Committee we therefore demand that the Sd Parks & Jackson shall be forth- with delivered to the Costody of Ensign Isac Doty — who is hereby authorized to Receive them in order that they may be caused to appear before us at the time and ]?lace above men- tioned when the Complainants may have opportunity to Produce their Evidence and Proceed to tryal By order of Committee, George Palmer, Chairman." On the 8th of June, there were only twenty men at Fort Edward,^ and no mention made of any force at Fort George, or the smaller posts between. This season, memorable in the annals of the times for the fearful massacres and butcheries at Wyoming and Cherry Valley, was also signalized by an irruption into Tryon county of which the following graphic description is copied verbatim from Stone's Life of Brant} " In the month of June, the loyalists who had fled to Canada with Sir John Johnson, to the number of one hundred and up- ward, performed an exploit equally bold and remarkable, which naturally suggests the inquiry, where were the whigs of Tryon county at that time ; and in what were they engaged. "The incident to which reference is had, was the return of those selfsame loyalists for their families, whom they were per- mitted to collect together, and with whom they were suffered to depart into the country, and the active service of the enemy. ]^or was this all. Not only was no opposition made to their proceedings, but on their way they actually committed flagrant acts of hostility, destroyed property, and took several prisoners. Having completed their arrangements, they moved northward from Fort Hunter, through Fonda's Bush, making four prison- ' Gates to Stark. — Memoirs, p. 161. ^ Original edition, vol. i, p. 309. 59 466 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. ers on their way thither,^ and at Fonda's Bush five others.*^ From this place they proceeded across the great marsh to Sir William Johnson's fish house on the Sacandaga, capturing a man named Martin, and another named Harris, on the way, and at the fish house taking a brave fellow named Solomon Wood- worth and four others.^ " They burnt the house and outbuildings of Godfrey Shew at this place, and departed with their prisoners, leaving the women and children homeless. Embarking on the Sacandaga in light canoes, previously moored at that place for the purpose, they descended twenty-five miles to the Hudson, and thence, by the way of Lake George and Champlain to St. Johns in safety. The day after his capture, Wood worth succeeded in making his escape. At St. Johns, John Shew and four others were given up to the Indians, by whom they were taken to their village in Canada. They were neither considered nor treated exactly as prisoners of war; and Shew, with three of his companions, soon afterward escaped and returned home.^ From St. Johns the loyal party proceeded down the St. Lawrence to Quebec, where the residue of the prisoners were kept in close confine- ment about four months. Some of the number died, and the remainder were sent to Halifax, and thence exchanged by the way of Boston." It was during this season, as nearly as can be ascertained, that Levi Crocker of Fort Miller was taken prisoner,^ while at work in the fields near his home, by a party of tories, of which some were friends and neighbors. He received such abuse, in- dignity, and insult, that he said to one of his captors, " Tom, there will come a time when I will make you bite the dust for this!" After some months' incarceration, he was fortunate enough to escape from his prison, and return to his home at Fort Miller in safety. One day, a member of the family dis- covered the oflending tory, making his way across the lower end of their garden. Crocker, who happened to be in the house, ' Mr. Cough and Ms son, and Mr. Marinus and his son. " John Putnam Jr., Mr. Salisbury, Mr. Rice, Mr. Joseph Scott, and Mr. BovATnan. ' Godfrey Shew, and his three sons, John, Stephen and Jacob. * " In the autumn of 1780, young Shew was again captured by a scouting party of Indians and tories, in the woods in the neighborhood of Ballston, and at the instigation of one of the latter, named John Parker, was immediately murdered. Parker was himself soon afterward taken as a spy by Captain Bernett of the mili- tia, carried to Albany, tried, convicted and executed." — iStone ut supra. '' Itdatiou of Miss Keziah Baker. CROCKER'S VENGEANCE. 467 was immediately notified, and, taking down his gun, which was always loaded in those days of peril and danger, he stepped to the door, and deliberately shot him. "While writhing and wal- lowing on the ground in his death agony, Crocker advanced to the spot where the dying man laid, and reminded him of his former treachery, and his own threat and promise now literally made good. Among the pioneer settlers of the Bradshaw patent was Moses Harris,^ father of the spy whose exploits have already been in part narrated. Like his brother Gilbert^, the tory, he was also a militia man at the time of the capture of Port Royal. In consequence of this service he became entitled to bounty- land, and it was probably while endeavoring to locate his scrip, that he settled in the north-western part of Kingsbury. He was arrested about the time of the occurrence of the events just narrated, at the house of his brother Gilbert. The latter, well knowing that Moses was fully cognizant of his evil doings, insisted that he should be taken into Canada as a prisoner, even if he died on the route, he being not only advanced in years, but in feeble health at the time, but Andrew Rakely,' who was in charge or command of the party of tories, resolutely opposed the proposition, saying, " he is an old man, and if he goes, the fatigue and exposure will kill him." To this Gilbert unfeelingly responded, " let him die then." The matter was finally com- promised by Moses taking an oath not to reveal anything so long as the war lasted, which would prejudice Gilbert's interests or bring him into disrepute with his whig neighbors. — After the war, Joseph Harris, Moses' son, out of gratitude for this unusual act of kindness, sent word to Rakely in Canada, that if he would come down and settle on it, he would give him one hundred acres of as good farming land as this section of country afforded.* About the same time, a lad by the name of Oliver Graham, ' It ia stated traditionally, that old Moses Harris after the close of the war emi- grated to the then new state of Kentucky, whither he had been preceded by some of his children, and where he died. * Old Gil. Harris found Kingsbury an unhealthy neighborhood to live in, after the war was ended. He removed, it is said, to Bolton, and died, and was buried somewhere in the vicinity of Basin bay on Lake George. " Andrew Rikely, as given me by my informant, but as the name already api)ears in this work according to the spelling in the text, to avoid confusion I have thought best to follow Judge Hay's orthography. ^ Relation of Miss Keziah Baker. I 468 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP QUEENSBURY. being with a party of three or four others on their way from Fort Edward, was shot at and wounded by a partj>^ of tories con- cealed on the route, of whom Gil Harris was one. One of the number exclaimed, as he was about to fire, " Why that's little Oliver Graham, don't kill him ; " to which Harris savagely re- plied, "Yes! damn him! let's kill all." The poor fellow on finding himself wounded, jumped from the roadway into the woods on the opposite side from which the gun was fired, and fell into the hands of another party in ambush, by whom he was taken a prisoner to Canada, where he remained until after the close of the war, when he returned again to Sandy Hill.^ Late in the summer, considerable bodies of troops were stationed at Otter creek. Fort Edward, Fort Schuyler, and one or two other stations in anticipation of tory forays into the country.^ That these precautions were needed but ineffective appears from a communication of General Stark, who speaks of the detention of a captain with a flag of truce by the British com- mander at Crown Point, and also some of the inhabitants of the vicinity being detained on board the enemy's vessels.^ The events of the year 1778, as relates to this section, were wound up by another tory raid by the way of Lake George and the Sacandaga. The details of this expedition are related as follows by Stone in his Life of Brants " Much has been said in the traditions of Tryou county, and somewhat, also, in the courts of law, in cases involving titles to real estate formerly in the family of Sir William Johnson, re- specting the burial of an iron chest, by his son Sir John, pre- vious to his flight to Canada, containing the most valuable of his own and his father's papers. Late in the autumn of the present year. General Haldimand, at the request of Sir John, sent a party of between forty and fifty men privately to Johns- town, to dig up and carry the chest away. The expedition was successful ; but the chest not being suflSlciently tight to prevent the influence of dampness from the earth, the papers had be- ' Belation of Miss Keziali Baker. About tins time Hoffnagle, (or Huffnail as he was called) Baker's partner in the mills at Sandy Ilill, who was a tory, also escaped to Canada, probably with the same party named in the test. "^ Memoir of Stark, p. 217. » Idem, pp. 190-1. ' Vol. I, p. 393. THE BURIED IRON CHEST. 469 come mouldy, rotten and illegible, when taken up. The infor- mation respecting this expedition was derived in the spring following, from a man named Helmer,^ who composed one of the party, and assisted in disinterring the chest." ^ Till 8 person was arrested the following spring and executed as a spy. The foregoing information and statement in the text, is derived from the minutes of the court martial. — Id. ^^£/iauo JOHNSON HALL. 470 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. CHAPTER XrV. Campaign of 1780 — Investment, Capture, and Destruction op Skenesborough — Annual Town Meeting — Queensbury again STRIPPED of its RESOURCES ADVENTURE OF JuSTUS SeELYE — SiR John Johnson's Incursion to the Mohawk Valley — General Haldimand reoccupies Fort'Ticonderoga — Tory Ravages in Vermont — Col. Warner Assigned to Duty on the Northern Frontier — Major Sherwood placed in Charge of Fort Anne — Adventure op two Sandy Hill Boys — Carleton's Invasion — Capture of Fort Anne and Fort Ceorge with their Garri- sons — Burning op Kingsbury and Queensbury — The Harrises and others from Queensbury Carried into Captivity — Their Adventures. "^^^^^OTHING of any particular note transpired in this ^ KV\il^ vicinity during the year 1779, of which any record remains. The annual election of town officers re- quired by the provisions of the patent was held as usual, the only change in the list of any importance, being the selection of Phineas Babcock for supervisor in the place of Abraham Wing. Several new names also appear upon the record showing that the work of settlement and the pursuits of peace were still going forward notwithstanding the impending terrors of war looming up from a hostile frontier. Before the ice had cleared out^ from Lake Champlain and while it still remained passable, it was made available by a band of 130 Indians, led by the infamous Joe Bettys, and two Cana- dian Frenchmen, who made an attack upon the little settlement at Skenesborough, then garrisoned by a body of militia sixty in number, drafted from the towns of New Perth, now Salem, and Cambridge on the eastern border of Charlotte county. The assailants approached the settlement from East bay, crossing the mountain east of "Whitehall village. A man and his wife who lived a short distance from the stone house built by Skene, 1 HoxigKs Northern Invasion, Introduction, p. 18. His version of the affair is embraced in the following brief paragraph. " Six days later (i. e. the 21st of March), about one hundred Indians from Canada, with three tories from Ballston and Tryon, surprised a small post at Skenesborough, captured its little garrison of thirteen men, killed and scalped a man and his wife, burnt several buildings, and retired down the lake on the ice, by the way they came. " DESTRUCTION OF SKENESBOROUGH. 471 were tomahawked and scalped ; a part of the garrison perceiving their approach attempted to escape, by swimming across the icy waters of Wood creek, but their fleet footed pursuers were too quick for them. "When midway of the stream they were sternly ordered to return or they would be shot. They accordingly went back and surrendered themselves. The attack was made about two o'clock on the afternoon of the 21st of March, and before sundown the party, loaded with plunder and accompanied by their prisoners, had started on its retreat. In this raid three persons (the two already named and one soldier), were killed and every building in the settlement was fired, so that of the once flourishing hamlet of Skeues- borough, not a roof was left, and Fort Anne for a brief period became the frontier post at the north. The Indians com- prising this marauding party were of the Caughnawaga or St. Regis tribes, and the prisoners, after reaching St. Johns were conducted through the wilderness to the Indian settle- ments at Chateaugay and French Mills, whence after a short detention, being robbed of all their valuables even to cloth- ing, they were conveyed to Montreal where they were ran- somed by the British officers for eight dollars apiece, and imprisoned, until they were exchanged, some of them in the mean time makiug their escape, and some remaining prisoners for two years or more.^ The Qiieensbury town book exhibits the following entry for the year 1780. " At an annual town meeting held in Queensbury on Tuesday y= 2 Day of May, 1780, For the Township of Queensbury. " 1. Voted, Abraham Wing, Moderater. " 2. Voted, to Regurn this to Fort Miller, at Duer's big house, till the Eight of this instant at 9 in the Morning. " Fort Miller y" 8 AD. 1780, — the Meting mett, and opened according to appointment. " 3. Voted, Benjamin Wing, town Clark. " 4. Voted, Phinehas Babcock, Superviser. " 6. Voted, James Higson and Andrew Lewis, Constables. ' For tliis narrative, not liitlierto published in any of our local or general his- tories, the author is indebted to Dr. Asa Fitch of Salem, by whom a full account was published in the ScUem Press of Nov. 5th and 12th, 18G7. 472 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. " 6. Voted, Ebenezer Fuller, James Higson and Andrew- Lewis Assessors. " 7. Voted, Abraham "Wing, Pathmaster. " 8. Voted, Abraham Wing, and Benja"' Wing, Overseers of the poor. " 9. Voted, Silas Brown Collector. " 10. Voted, Abraham "Wing, town treasurer. *• 11. Voted, Abraham "Wing, Jur. Pound keeper. " 12. Voted, Pardon Daly and James Higson, fence viewers, and prisers of Damages." The reason for adjourning this town meeting to Fort Miller,^ is presumed to have been the fear of some tory irruption from Canada like that already related, of which there were several more in the course of the season. ' That the Queensbury families continued to suflfer from time to time in con- sequence of requisitions for the public service is apparent from the following cer- tificates and affidavits, being a part of the Wing Mss. No. 1. Memorandum of Account of Outlays, Expenditures and Losses by Abraham Wing : Time expended in Search of my Iron which was con- sealed by Sargent Williams & Company June the 20 Day 1778 6 men and myself 1 Day £8 „ 8 „ 2 cwt of Nails 60 „ 00 „ To 3 journies to Fort Stark in the Summer in pursuit of sd iron 3 „ 12 „ " 2 days at Court 2 „ 8 „ " 2 large Carpenters Sledges or Mawls, 9 „ 12 „ " 1 ax „ 2 Iron wedges 6 „ 8 „ Abrm Wing. No. 2. Statement of losses by one Jacob Ferguson. Capt moss I understand by Cornal mcCray that you had wheat from my fathers plase with others ond as it was one third part mine please to pay Abraham Wing the money for what you Had and you will oblige your Friend Queensbury the 4 of February 1780 ^ -r, •' Jacob Ferguson. Capt putnam I understand by Cornal mcCray that you had sum wheat from my Fathers plase which wheat was one third part mine please to pay Abraham Wing for the Same and you will oblige your friend to sarve. Queensbury the 4 february 1780. Jacob Ferguson. No. 3. Affidavit of Samuel Younglove relating to the destruction of property in Queens- bury in 1780. County of ^ Personally before me Albert Baker one of the Justices for said Washington f ' County Samuel Younglove of Lawf ull age deposeth and saith that he saw James Stinglor take out of the house of Abram Wing in the year one TOWN RECORDS. 473 The Mohawk Vcalley was still full of sympathizers with the royal cause, giving substantial aid and comfort to the enemy thousand seven hundred and eighty to the amount of about one hundred panes of glass with the sashes or near there abouts and saw him have five saw-mill saws and sundry other articles which the said Stinslor told the deponent he had taken from the said Wing, and the deponent further declares that the said Stinslor told him the deponent that he had got to the amount of between forty and fifty pounds from old Wing, farthermore deponent saith not. Saml Younglove Sworn before me this 11th June, 1787 Albert Baker J. Peace. No. 4. AflJdavit concerning Cattle seized in 1780 : Washington County State of New York ss. Personally apjjeared before me John Williams one of Judges of the Court of Sessions & common pleas for the said County John McCrea of said County of lawful age who being duly sworn on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God de- poseth and saith that in the month of October in the year of our Lord one thou- sand seven hundred and eighty that the Garrison stationed at Fort Edward were destitute of provisions and that the Commissary then at that post was directed to get Cattle where they might be had for the support of the Troops by order of General Schuyler Jonathan Jillet the then Commissary applyed to this deponent who had a pair of fatt oxen which he received and killed at the post that this de- ponent applied to the commissary for payment who gave this deponent a certifi- cate for said Cattle which afterwards was destroyed with the buildings of this deponent by the enemy that he the said Commissary left the parts immediately after the Campaign ended so that this deponent could not obtain auy relief in the premises & has made application to the Legislature of this State but did not re- ceive any neither l^as he at any time or in any manner received any kind of restitu- tion for said Cattle and further he this deponent has not assigned or made over said certificate to any person or persons whatever and that the certificate which this deponent received for said oxen from said Commissary was for fourteen hundred weight of Beef as near as this deponent recollects and further this de- ponent saith not ' Sworn before me this ) t„„ -„r t n 25th december 1790. \ ^^^^^ Williams Jud Curia. No. 5. Official certificates in favor of Abraham Wing and son. No 416 I do hereby acknowledge myself indebted to Abraham Wing in the Sum of Two Hundred dollars As Witness my hand this 11 Day of May 1780 Morn Lewis D Q M G This Certifies that Mr Abraham Wing hath supplied the Publick with 150 Plank and 50 Boards Price not known of the above Boards. Jonathan Nicklison. This Certifies that Abraham Wing hath Supplied the Public with Two tuns of Hay at One hundred and Sixty five Dollors pr tun Amounting to One Hundred and Thirty two Pounds for Which Sum this Shall be a Siitficient voucher Given under my hand and Seal of September 1780 £133-0 Chris Yates D Q M G Fort George 23d march 1780 60 474 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. with whom they were in constant correspondence,^ and the Sacandaga and Lake George with an occasional dash into Queensbury was the favorite and most frequented route. It was early in this season that Justus Seelye,' subsequently a resi- dent of this town, then a small boy, was smuggled into a neigh- bor's house, at Fort Miller, where a meeting of Indians, as These to Certify That abraham Wing Jun hath been two days Imployed in Public services at the garrison of fort George with a Sleigh and two Yoke of Oxen one day and with one Span of Horses the other Day for which he hath Reed no pay. To Whom it may i pr Wm MouiiTON Captn Commandt. Concern ) No. 6. Deposition of James Higson concerning two oxen, the property of Benjn. Wing — taken for the public service in 1781 : The Peblic to Benjn. Wing Dr. 15th May 1781 To Two Oxen Taken from Fort Miller by Lieut. Bagley, by order of Lt. Col. Vandike. Washington ) This Day personly appeared Before me James Higson of Lawf uU County. } age and made solomn oath in the presence of Almighty God, that he Saw the above named Lt. Bagley Take the Oxen from Fort Miller with a party of Soldiers and said he had orders from Col. Van Dicke to Do So, and that he the sd Deponant knew the oxen to be the property of the above named Benjamin Wing. James Higson. Sworn before me at Fort Edward this 6th Day of March, 1786. Adiel Sherwood Jus Peace We Do hereby Solemnly Sware that to the best of our knowledge the Two oxen above specified which were Taken from Benjn. Wing for the use of the Continental Army, were worth at that Time in specie Thirty pounds york money. Phinehas Babcock Andrew Lewis James Higson Washington \ County J this Day personly appeared before me the above Phis. Babcock, Andrew Lewis and James Higson and made oath to the same Fort Edward 6th March 1786. Adiel Sherwood, Jus. Peace 6th March 1786, this day personly appeared before me Beiljn Wing and Most Solemnly affirmed in the presence of Almighty God that he had not Received any Compensation for the within mentioned oxen. Adiel Sherwood, Jus. Peace. It is presumed that no part of> these claims were ever adjusted, 1 " Major Jelles Fonda wrote to General Clinton (1779), stating that there were yet 300 tory families in the northern part of that settlement, affording aid and comfort to the hostile refugees, who kept up a continual intercourse with them, across through the woods, or by Lake Champlain to Canada." — Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i, p. 403. ' Communicated to the author by his son. TORY SYMPATHIZERS. 475 supposed, was held, and to whose consultations and proceedings he thus involuntarily became a witness. After they left, he escaped to his home, and related the events and conversatioa of the evening. A party was immediately organized in pursuit, which overtook, and captured them, when one of them was dis- covered to be a neighbor and a tory painted up in the fitting semblance of a savage. He with the rest of his party, all tories, were sent to Albany and imprisoned, tried by court martial and hung. Another incursion' into the Mohawk valley was made in the spring of this year by Sir John Johnson, at the head of 500 men consisting of a detachment of the regiment of Royal Greens of which he was commandant, and two hundred tories and Indians. Advancing from the vicinity of Crown Point on Lake Cham- plain, where their bateaux were hidden, they entered the wilder- ness of Warren county in the present town of Johnsburgh, following the often traveled, and well beaten trail at the base of Crane's mountain, and striking the Sacandaga river near the Fish house, pursued their stealthy way to Johnstown which place he reached on the 21st of May, 1780. The ostensible purpose of this foray was the recovery of the family plate, of which two barrels had been buried in the cellar of the old mansion. This was disinterred and divided among the packs of forty soldiers, and carried back in safety to Montreal. The route of this incursion was as usual, marked by rapine, slaughter, and ruined homesteads, and has been characterized as one of the most wanton, ruthless, and inde- fensible outrages of the whole war. They were followed by Governor Clinton with a party of hastily gathered militia who took the route by the way of Queensbury and Lake George, as far as Ticonderoga and Crown Point but were too late,^ the marauders having already made good their escape down the lake. The prisoners were conveyed to Chambly and confined in the fortress at that place. ^ Although many authorities have been consulted in regard to this affair, the author has followed chiefly the very full, and graphic account given by William L. Stone (the younger), in the appendix to the Life of Sir William Johnson. "^ He (.John Neilson, the author's father), was also a volunteer under Governor George Clinton, at the time he went north to intercept the retreat of Sir John Johnson, and was one of the two scouts (John Benson being the other) who were selected by the governor, and sent from Crown Point to scour the wilderness, between that post and Schroon lake. — Neilson's Burgoyne's Campaign, p. 237. 476 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QrEENSBURY. Before the retreat of Sir John, the militia of the district began to assemble under the command of Colonels John Harper and Volkert Veeder, but the uumberof the invading party was too large to warrant them in pursuit or attack, until it was too late. In the month of June or July General Haldimand who had been the year before appointed governor of Canada^ in the place of Carleton, reoccupied the fortress at Ticonderoga, with a force of upwards of ten thousand men. His mission was of a pacific nature, it being alleged that he was concerned in negotiations with the Vermont leaders to restore that terri- tory to its fealty to the crown, and that his presence was to assure that people of his assistance and protection. Notwith- standing this allegation and assurance, the Vermonters were made the special subjects of visitation by some marauding bands of tories and Indians during the season.^ The towns of Bar- nard, Newbury, Peacham, Tunbridge, Royalton, Sharon and Randolph were attacked at different periods, a few killed, houses burned, fields laid waste, and several prisoners taken and carried to Canada, some of whom were ransomed from the Indians, some exchanged, and others remained until the close of the war. During this season Col. Warner's regiment^ appears to have been assigned to the duty of protecting the frontiers, a portion being stationed at Saratoga* (Schuylerville) a part at Fort Edward, and a company under Capt. John Chipman at Fort George. Fort Anne was also garrisoned by a levy of Charlotte county militia, drav/n chiefly from the towns of Queensbury, Kingsbury, and Fort Edward ; and placed under the command of Captain Adiel Sherwood, of the same regiment, from which the militia were drafted. About this time, John High (a son of William High, who ' " General Sir Frederic Haldimand, had pre\nou8 to tliis (18th Feb'y, 1779), superseded Sir Guy Carleton in the command of Canada. — Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i, p. 384. " Hoskin's Ilistoi'y of Vermont, pp. 75, 6, 7, 8. " The adventure of Colonel Warner recorded in a note on page 304 of this work, most probably occurred about this time. * " The board of war decided to break up several minor stations, including those at Schenectady, Schoharie, Johnstown, Fort Plank, Oneida Castle, Half Moon Point, New-City (now Lansingburgh), Saratoga, Fort Edward and Skenes- borough." The events upon the frontiers, already noticed, induced General Clin- ton to retain some of those at Skenosborough, Fort Plank, Herkimer, Schoharie, and Fort Edward. " — Ilough's Noi'thern Invasion, p. 23. FORAYS AND MOVEMENTS OF TROOPS. 477 lived near the present site of Kenyon's Mills east of Sandy Hill) and Albert Baker Jr. (son of one of the early proprietors, and mill owners, at Sandy Hill, after whom the third fall on the Hudson was named) were employed to take a couple of led horses up to some of the officers at Fort George. They were delayed in starting by waiting to catch a horse in the ♦ fields back of the present brick dwelling known as the Baker house on Main street. The horse had a trick of raising its head in a peculiar manner when it did not want to be caught, and it played this trick so persistently on this fateful morning that young Baker was provoked beyond measure at the delay thus caused. After a weary chase and many trials he at length succeeded in getting the bridle on to the horse, and they started on the way. Baker in after years used to relate this event and its attendant delay as a Providential interposition in their behalf, for when they reached the Half-way brook, they found the bodies of four dead laborers, recently killed, the bodies still warm, and the scalps taken. Among them was one they re- cognized as a neighbor, by the name of Koou. If Baker and his companion had been half an hour earlier, they would pro- bably have shared the same fate.' From the beginning of the campaign, rumors had been borne to the American camps of active and extensive preparations iu Canada, for the invasion of the frontier jDosts and settlements of northern New York. In anticipation of this event, as early as the 20th of May, the regiments of Colonels Yates, Van Woert, Schoonhoven, and McCrea, were gathered at Saratoga,^ and General James Clinton was assigned to the command of the department. On the 26th of July the noted Indian chieftain Brant, with a body of 800 well armed Indians and tories, made their appear- ance in the Mohawk valley. Making first a feint upon Fort Schuyler, he descended on the village of Cauajoharie, which, with several of the adjacent settlements, was utterly laid waste, . with the usual accompaniments of pillage, butchery, and house burning. From time to time, all through the season, other outrages of a similar character were perpetrated on a smaller scale, here and there, along the wilderness front, showing that the enemy were continually alert, active and aggressive. An ' Relation of Miss Eeziah Baker. * Hough's Northern Invasion, p. 27. 478 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. occasional bit of news from an escaped prisoner, or an inter- cepted dispatch, bore witness to tlie continuance of martial pre- parations at the north. At length the storm burst. The long .threatened inroad took shape on the 10th of October, by the sudden ^ appearance before the little post of Fort Anne, of a , force of 800 British regulars, one company of German Yagers, 200 tories, and 175 Indians, under the command of Major Christopher Carleton of the 29th regiment.^ They had ad- vanced about the first of the month from St. Johns with a fleet of eight vessels, and twenty-six boats, and landed during the night of the eighth on the shore of South bay. Here a small party with boats was detached to return to Ticonderoga, and thence across the carrying place to Lake George, with a view to cooperate in an attack upon the post at its southern ex- tremity.^ ' It appears by a letter from Capt. Chipman, that Capt. Sherwood had been no- tified by his scouts, on the 8th, of the approach of the enemy, which information he had immediately transmitted to Col. Henry Livingston in command at Fort Edward, but the latter failed to communicate the same to the officers at Fort George, in consequence of wliich neglect that garrison suffered heavily in the action that ensued on Carleton's approach. Col. Livingston took great credit to himself for diverting the attention of the enemy from Fort Edward by the following ruse. It is quite probable, however, that the small party of tories who swept through the towns of Kingsbury, Queens- bury and Fort Edward, burning and destroying as they went, as far south as Saratoga, and east to White Creek, had neither intention or desire of meeting an armed force either great or small. " The invading troops approached Fort Edward, but were probably prevented from making an attack, by a stratagem of Colonel Livingston who commanded there. Hearing of the incursions of the enemy, he wrote a letter to Captain Sherwood, on the morning of the day on which Fort Anne was surrendered, saying he was very strong, and would support that garrison if attacked. He gave this letter to a messenger, who he had little doubt would carry it to the enemy, which he is presumed to have done, and thus to have saved that post from the fate which had befallen the others. The garrison did not amount to seventy men. Parties of the enemy penetrated near to Saratoga. Thirty-five houses were burned." — Letters of Col. Limngston, Oct. 12th and Col. Warner, Oct. 30th. Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, vol. vii, p. 270. ' Colonel Ebenezer Jessup's battalion, raised in this neighborhood, was stated to have composed a part of this force ; perhaps comprised thetory element. 3 " There is a report that the enemy retired after destroying Fort Anne, Fort George, and burning some houses. It is thought, and perhaps not without founda- tion, that tliis incursion was made upon a supposition that Arnold's treachery had succeeded." — Gen. Washington to tjic President of Congress. 21 St October, 1780. '' A branch of tlus expedition, consisting of about four hundred reguhirs, tories and Indians, under the command of Major John Munro, a tory, formerly a mer- SURRENDER OF FORT ANNE. 4 79 The garrison of Fort Anne consisted at this time of seventy- five men all told, officers included, under the command of Captain Adiel Sherwood; men and officers being a part of the raw and undisciplined militia of the western border of Charlotte county. A demand was made for the surrender of the fort and its feeble garrison. With a supply of only ten rounds of ammu- nition to a man, it was agreed, after a brief conference among the officers, that any attempt at defense with such overwhelm- ing odds, and no known succor within possibility of reach, would be worse than useless, as it would thereby exasperate a vindictive and unrelenting foe, and entail a wanton and needless waste of life. The fort with its garrison was accordingly surrendered, a stipulation having been made that the women and children in the fort should be sent in safety to their homes. The barracks and wood work of the fort ^ was burned, and the force divided, a portion of which marched down through Kings- bury street, burning houses, destroying property and taking prisoners as it went. The larger portion of the invaders, led by Carleton in person, advanced across the country' to Fort George, where Captain John Chipraan was stationed with a portion (a part of t\vo companies as inferred), of Warner's regiment. He had, in the early part of October, received advices through his scouts, of the arrival of the enemy's vessels at Crown Point, a fact which he had communicated to Colonel Malcom, the officer then commanding the northern department. On the morning of Wednesday, the 11th, being destitute of provisions, an express was despatched to Fort Edward, for fresh supplies. The messenger shortly returned with the intelligence that he had discovered a party of Indians, about twenty -five in chant at Schenectady, having left their boats at Bulwaggabay near Crown Point, proceeded by an interior route west of Lalie George [via Johnsburgh and Crane's mountain in Warren county to the Sacandaga], with the original intention, it is believed, of surprising Schenectady." They laid waste and burned the little settlement of Ballstown." — Hough's NortJiern Invasion, p. 45. * The fort was hardly worthy of the name, being only a block house built of rough logs, and surrounded by a stockaded inclosure. — Vide Hough's Northern Invasion, p. 43. "A reference to Gov. Tryon's map, in vol. i of the Doeumentary History of N. T., shows the existence of a road at this time, leading from the po.st at the Half- way brook (Fort Amherst), to intersect near Kingsbury street, the great military route from Fort Edward to Fort Anne. Judge Hay states in his MSS.,thatat the time of Burgoyne's advance, there was a road leading direct from Fort Anne to the upper picket post near George Brown's Half-way house. 480 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. number, near Bloody pond. This was Carleton's advance. Supposing it to be a marauding party, and being but scantily supplied with ammunition, it was thought best to send out a sufficient force ^ to drive them from the road. Accordingly the following garrison order was issued to Capt. Thomas Sill. " Oct'br 11, 1780. " Sir ; as it is reported to me that there is a small party of savages near Bloddy pond, you will immediately take Forty Eight men, officers included and proseed on the main road, un- til you make discoveries of them, keeping aSuffiscient advance and Flank gards in Such a manner as to prevent being sur- rounded. If you find a large party you will Emmediately Re- treat to the fort except they should be savages only, in which case you will attack and immediately Charge upon them. " John Chipman, Capt. Com'd^." For some cause, not explained. Captain Sill did not take the main road directed by his orders, and thus unobserved, on a bye road, he passed the invading party on its way to the fort. Falling into the rear and following up the trail they speedily discovered the superior force of the enemy, but finding their retreat thus cut pS, they resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible, and so rushed to the attack. The engagement, which took place between Bloody pond and Gage's hill, was short, sharp, and decisive. The enemy perceiving the smallness of the attacking force,^ speedily surrounded it, and the survivors of the brief struggle were made prisoners. The severity of the action may be judged of by the large proportionate number of killed. This spirited onset it is quite probable contributed largely to the favorable terms granted in the capitulation. The fort^ was immediately invested by the enemy, who were met ' " Captain Chipman, supposing the party to consist of a scout from the enemy, sent out all his garrison except fourteen men. * * * Colonel Warner and Lieutenant Colonel Safford were ahsent. ***** Two days previously, Captain Sherwood had surrendered Fort Anne, and the whole garrison, consisting of seventy-seven men." — Col. Livingston's Letter. Sparks's Life and Writings of Wasldngton, vol. vii, p. 269. * Ensign Grant with fourteen men, in the melee became separated from the main body, and keeping clear of the garrison, fortunately made their escape. — Capt. Chipman's Letter. * Capt. Chipman in a letter of explanation, speaks of the fort as " the wretched production of a cantrous Jebb ;" and in another place says " the fort, wliich though dignified with that term, is but an unfinished angle of the intended fort." CAPITULATION OF PORT GEORGE. 481 with a spirited resistance from its one piece of ordnance (a six pounder), and fifteen muskets, until a surrender was demanded, when upon conference the capitulation was made upon the following conditions, alike honorable to victors and vanquished.^ " Articles of Capitulation between Major Carleton, commanding a detach- ment of the King's troops, and Capt. Ghipman, commanding at Fort George. " Article 1st. The troops of the garrison to surrender themselves prisoners of war. " Article 2d. That the women and children be permitted to return to their homes, with two waggons and their baggage. " Article 3d. Each officer shall be allowed their servants. " Article 4th. No Indian to enter the fort until a British detachment takes possession of the fort. " Article 5th. Major Carleton passes his honor that no levies in the fort shall be lost, nor any person be molested. " Article 6th. Each Soldier to carry his knapsack. " Article 7th. Ensign Barrett shall be permitted to return home with his family and the regimental books, on giving his parole to Major Carleton. ^ " John Chipman, Capt. Com? 2d Battalion. " James Kirkman, Lt. 29th Regt. " Wm. Johnston, Lt. 47th Regt. " Ch' Carlton, Major 29th Regt., etc., etc., etc." The following are the returns of losses at Forts Anne and George, the large proportion of killed and wounded being the result of the action near Bloody pond. Americans, killed, 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 1 ensign, 23 privates. Wounded, 1 lieutenant, 1 private. Prisoners, 2 captains, 2 lieutenants, 114 privates. English forces : 3 killed, 4 wounded. Traditions have been handed down of cruelties inflicted on this occasion by the savages, as was their wont on the hapless prisoners who came into their possession. The following reminiscence of this action was related to the author in 1849, by one of the surviving pensioners of the revolution. Benjamin Knapp was one of the prisoners taken at the surrender of Fort Anne. He, 'A bateau with a party of observation sent out the day before on a reconnoi- sance to the lower end of the lake, was prevented from returning by the detach- ment despatched from Skenesborough, whose advancing boat was armed with a howitzer. This party also escaped by land. ^ For this document, the author tenders his acknowledgments to Dr. F. B. Hough, author of the Nortliern Invasion and other historical works of note, several of which are referred to in this work. 61 482 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBUEY. with the other prisoners, was marched forward with the party advancing toward Lake George. They were pursued and over- taken near Bloody pond, when a sharp skirmish took place, during which the prisoners were conducted to a hollow in the rear of a considerable elevation or hill, where they were com- pelled to lie flat on their faces on peril of their lives, and warned not to make any noise, or give any signal by which their pre- sence could be known. The Americans were finally defeated with considerable loss, and the survivors made prisoners. The tradition, it will be seen, conforms very closely to the historical record. The prisoners taken at the two forts " were conveyed by the way of Lake George and transferred to the vessels on Lake Champlain, and Fort George was destroyed." ^ The detachment of tories and Indians that proceeded south from Fort Anne hastened without delay through Kingsbury street, burning and destroying as they went.^ In the local tra- ditions ijfc has ever since been known as "the year of the burn- ing." Among the number comprising this expedition, was a former resident of Sandy Hill named Adam W"int, who, es- pousing the royal cause, went to Canada in the early part of the war. He with another tory from the same neighborhood, acted as guides to a party of Indians to whom was assigned the incendiary work of destruction. At this time Albert Baker sr.^ was attending court in the eastern part of the county. While his sons and hired men were at work, a part of them in the barn, and the rest in the fields near by, a neighbor by the name of Thomas Lyon came rushing by exclaiming, " Boys what are you about ? Don't you see that all Kingsbury's ' Hough's Northern Invasion, p. 44. Also Letter from Governor Clinton, Sparks' s Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. iii, p. 121. "" Tuesday the 10th, about noon, Col. Livingston was informed by two gentle- men who had occasionally rode out, and narrowly escaped being taken, of the enemy's having captured Fort Anne, and were making a rapid progress through Kingsbury, burning and destroying all before them." — Letter of Capt. Chipman. ° The Bakers were of Scotch or North English origin. For political reasons the original or pioneer emigrant of the name was obliged to flee his country, and seek refuge in this country, during Cromwell's protectorate. Albert Baker jr. was born 10th of November, 1765. When he was 4 years of age his father moved to Sandy Hill. Caleb Baker, son of Albert, was the first child born of white parents in the town of Kingsbury. Albert jr. was sent to school at Glen's Falls before there was any school at Sandy Hill. He boarded at Abraham Wing's. THE YEAR OP THE BURNING. 483 ablaze ? You'd better be getting out of this !" After warning the family, the boys hitched up two yokes of oxen to a cart and loading it hastily with what few things came readily to hand they made their escape by the way of Fort Edward. Even tiieu the tories had formed their ambuscade by the road side, for Gil Harris, who was of the party, with others, laid concealed behind a log on the route between Sandy Hill and Fort Edward, afterwards told Mrs. Baker that he saw her passing with a tea kettle in her hand, and that she would have been taken a pri- soner to Canada, had it not been from a fear of being pursued by the soldiers at Fort Edward. A portion of the same party followed down the river on the west side as far as Stillwater, burning and destroying as they went. The fugitive settlers from Kingsbury and Queensbury are said to have been guided on their retreat b}^ the blaze of the burning buildings. A widow Harris, who kept tavern nearly opposite the Baker house, had a little daughter captured by the enemy, but they shortly let her go again, and she returned to her mother ; home she had none, for it was burned. There were seventeen fami- lies living in Kingsbury at this time. Of all the buildings and betterments every thing was destroyed but two, viz : The building leased and occupied by Adam Wint before the war (the frame still exists, enclosed as a barn,^ in the lower part of the village) and the dwelling of William High, still standing near Kenyon's mills about a mile east of the village. This was probably either too insignificant or too far out of the way,^ for the marauding party to venture. • At this time, Queensbury was abandoned by its inhabitants,^ its dwellings and improvements were again burnt and de- stroyed, and the settlement remained deserted for the next fif- teen months, during which no record exists of town meetings, nor is there any other evidence of occupancy.* ' It is now moved from its original site, and is tlie property of Henry Howe. The other house near the five combined locks on the Glen's Falls feeder, is now owned and occupied by Joseph Fish. "^ Relation of Miss Kezlah Baker. ' It was at this time that Polly Wing with her infant son Daniel W. took refuge and passed the night in the swamp back of the old McDonald mansion. See page 162. ■"'I had scarcely lost sight of Fort Edward, before the spectacle of devastation presented itself to my eyes, and continued to distress them as far as the place I stopped at. Peace and Industry had conducted Cultivators amidst these antient 484 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. lu a letter from Governor ClintoB to General Washington dated Albany 18th October, he states that a party had appeared at Ballston and destroyed some buildings there, and that the settlement of White Creek, in the eastern part of Charlotte county, had been burned the day before.^ On the 18th Governor Clinton at Albany writes to General Washington, that " the post at Fort Edward, after the removal of the stores is evacuated, the levies who were stationed there, having in- sisted that their time of service is expired, and Col. Livingston, the commanding officer, with the other officers are now on their return."^ Among the prisoners taken at this time by a flanking or fly- ing party of savages and tories accompanying the expedition to Fort George, were Eben Fuller,^ and his son Benjamin ; Andrew Lewis who remained a prisoner in Canada until after the close of the war ; James Higson, who was soon after liberated through forests (who) were content and happy, liefore the period of this war. Those who were in Burgoyne's way alone Experienced the horrors of his Expedi- tion ; but on the last invasion of the Savages, the desolation has spread from Fort Schuyler (or Stanwise) sic, even to Fort Edward ; I beheld nothing around me but the remains of conflagrations ; a few bricks, proof against the fire, were the only indication of ruined houses ; whilst the fences still entire, and cleared out lands, announced that these deplorable hal)itations had once been the abode of riches and of happiness." (30th December, 1780.) — Travels in North AmeiHca, by the Marquis de Chastellux. (Translation.) London, 1787. ^Sparks's Correspondence of the American Revolution, vol. iii, pp. 121-3. " Those upon the northern quarter had repassed Lake George, and were again proceeding towards St. Johns, but suddenly returned with a reinforcement, and were, by accounts from General Schuyler of the 1st inst., assembled in so consi- derable a force at Ticonderoga, that I have thought proper to send up the re- mainder of the New York brigade from VVest Point to Albany, that they mightw be ready to act as circumstances may require. " — Qenl. Washington to President of Congress. Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, vol. vii, p. 286. " Sparks's Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. in, p. 120. " As you approach Fort Edward (from the south), the houses become more rare. The fort is built at sixteen miles from Saratoga, in a little valley near the river, on the only spot which is not covered with wood, and where you can have a prospect to the dis- tance of a musket shot around you. Formerly it consisted of a square, fortified by two bastions on the east side, and by two demi bastions on the side of the river ; but this old fortification is abandoned, because it was too much commanded, and a large redoubt, with a simple parapet and a wretched i)allisade, is built on a more elevated spot ; within are small barracks for about two hundred soldiers. Such is Fort Edward, so much spoken of in Europe, altho' it could in no time have been able to resist five -hundred men with four pieces of cannon." — Chastellux' s TraveU in North America. Eug. Translation, vol. 1, pp. 419, 20. ^ Eben Fuller was a brother-in-law of Wm. Robards. THE HARRIS TRADITIONS. 485 the intercession of his brother-in-law Daniel Jones, Moses Harris the elder and his son William. The morning following the surrender of the fort, the dwell- ing where they lived was surrounded by the invading party and before they could make any preparations either for defense or escape, they were made prisoners. The elder Harris was treated with uncalled for severity and harshness. His shoes and stock- ings were taken off, and he was loaded with a heavy pack of plunder, with which, after his house and out buildings were burned, he was compelled to travel the rough road which led along the western banks of Lake George to a point on Lake Champlain north of Ticonderoga, probably Bulvvagga bay.^ The son begged the privilege of carrying his father's pack, and also to allow the old gentleman the use of his shoes and stock- ings while he would go barefoot. Through the malignity of one of the tories, who had an old grudge to revenge, this request was denied, and the old man's trail might, for many miles, have been traced by his bloody footprints. After reach- ing Lake Champlain, the party, consisting of eighteen prisoners with their captors, were embarked in boats and bateaux, which bad been concealed at that place on their way up, and after many privations, hardships and indignities were finally landed at Quebec. ^ It is proper to state that this narrative .and the other Harris traditions were taken down by the author about the year 1850 from the relation of Moses Harris, nephew ot William, the principal actor in this life drama, by whom my informant had heard the events related many times. In one respect, and perhaps without sufficient cause, I have varied my account from the original version as given to me ; which made the date of the capture of the Harrises and other prisoners at the time of Burgoyne's advance, which the following reminiscence would seem to confirm ; for William's son Benjamin informed me that his father's name was afterwards found on the muster and pay rolls in Sherwood's possession, as one of the militia drafted for that emergency, and that he was present in the fort as a soldier, and was made a prisoner at the time of the surrender of Fort Anne. It is gratifying, also, to record his justification of the surrender ; inasmuch as, according to his judgment, the fort was wholly untenable against any considerable force. Previous to the descent of Burgoyne from the north, the colonial authorities had taken the precaution to disarm the disaffected, so far as they were known to be such, among the residents of Charlotte county. Among others thus deprived of their arms was one Joseph Brayton, a tory, who had lived in Hartford, Washington county. After William Harris had re- covered from his wounds sufficiently to bear the fatigues and hardships of the camp, he was drafted into a company of militia then stationed at Fort Edward. Being destitute of arms, the commandant of that post, after listening to the narra- tive of his captivity and escape, told him to go into the armory, and select any gun that he liked, and he would make him a present of it. He accordingly se- 486 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Here the captives were ransomed from the savages, and be- came prisoners of war. For a period they were held iu close confinement, but after a while, the rigor of their discipline was somewhat relaxed, and the old man was permitted to follow the occupations of farming and also of dressing and tanning deer- skins with which he was familiar. In due course of time, he with other prisoners was sent to Halifax, and exchanged, after which he returned to his former home in Dutchess county. ' The younger Harris, with thirteen other prisoners, through the same tory influence that had made both his march, and imprisonment, of unusual rigor and severity, was placed for more perfect security, where they were guarded by a patrol of soldiers and kept at work. With the opening of spring, a yearning for freedom possessed the hearts of the prisoners, and they concerted a plan for escape, which was afterward matured and carried into efi'ect as follows : A boat from the main land furnished them daily with provisions, and such necessary sup- plies as their condition required. From these supplies, they commenced saving up from their daily rations, such portions as could be most easily preserved, until they had accumulated sufiicient to last them for three days. When the critical moment of departure arrived, however, only seven of the fourteen could be prevailed upon to undertake the perilous journey. The most the others would do, was to take a solemn oath lected a liandsomely mounted, highly finished rifle, which had heen taken from the tory above named, to which Harris gavfe the name of Old Brayton. This gun he used during his term of service, and took home with him when he was discharged. Sometime after peace was declared, Moses Brayton purchased from his father a farm in the north part of Kingsbury. He called one day with his brother Joseph at the Harrises, and invited William to meet him at a certain tree which constittited a part of the boundary of the Brayton farm, remarking casually that he had better bring his gun along, as they might see some game. Harris assented and taking the precaution to load the gun, met the Braytons at the hour and place agreed upon. After some irrelevant conversation, Moses in- quired of Harris, if that was not his brother Joseph's gun 1 To this Harris re- plied that it was a present to him, and detailed the circumstances connected with the gift. Moses then asserted his brother's title to the gun and that Harris must give it up. The latter declared very emphatically that he should not, whereu])on Moses approached him in a threatening manner saying they would have it, if they had to take it by force, upon wliich Harris stepped back, cocked the gun and jiresented it, exclaiming with an oath " if you do, you will get it blazing." Ap- preciating his resolute and determined manner, they desisted, and allowed him to return home with his gun, without further molestation. THE HARRIS TRADITIONS. 487 not to make any disclosure or raise any alarm which would lead to their apprehension, until the evening following, when the sentries were changed, and the discovery would be inevita- ble. They seized the boat which brought their provisions in the morning, and made their escape during the forenoon, laud- ing upon the south shore of the St. Lawrence, on the borders of the vast wilderness stretching towards the New England colonies. Harris being an excellent woodsman here took the lead, and they struck boldly into the wilderness, pursuing their way southward for several days arM nights with but little rest and scant refreshment, husbanding their slender stock of pro- visions to the utmost. These soon gave out and they were obliged to depend upon such chance fare as the forest afforded. At length, utterly worn out with fatigue they made a halt, and to avoid the intolerable annoyance of the musquitos and flies, it was proposed to build a fire, or more properly a smudge^ as it is called in woodman's parlance. Harris opposed the projegt, and endeavored to dissuade them from it, on the ground that it would inevitably lead to their dis- covery and recapture, if they were pursued, which was exceed- ingly probable. He was overruled, however, by the majority, and a place was selected on a low marshy spot of ground, where the fire was started and then smothered with damp, rotten wood, which prevented it from blazing and made a dense, heavy smoke which kept off the insects. Around this they camped for the night, and exhausted with the protracted march, and unwonted fatigue the entire party were very shortly buried in a profound sleep. About midnight they were aroused from their slumbers by a volley of musketry, by which one of their number was killed outright, and two others were desperately wounded. Harris, who was a large, muscular man, with limbs powerfully knit together, and of herculean proportions and strength, arose in time to parry a blow from a tomahawk, which was aimed by a gigantic savage at one of his companions. The Indian imme- diately grappled with him, and after a struggle for some minutes Harris succeeded in throwing him upon the now brightly blazing fire, when putting his feet upon his neck he pressed the savage's head beneath the flames. At this juncture, a near neighbor and former friend of Harris before the war, a toryby 488 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. the name of Cyreaus Parks, approached him with his musket clubbed, and ordered him to release the savage.^ This he refused to do, and as he drew back, to strike him, Harris exclaimed, " you wont kill an unarmed man will you Parks, and an old neighbor too ?" Parks made no reply, nor for an instant wavered in his fell purpose, and the blow de- scended. Harris warded it oif as well as he could with his arm, which was broken by its force, the remainder of the blow falling upon his head, the lock of the gun cutting a large gash through the scalp, down the sides of the head to the ear. Harris fell stunned, and remained insensible for many hours. "When he awoke to consciousness, he found another gash on the opposite side of his head, caused by the blow of a tomahawk, two wounds upon his forehead caused by the muzzle of a musket, jammed down with considerable force, with the intent of despatching him, and a bayonet thrust in the chest, which had been given, to see if he was still alive. All his companions were gone, as well as his coat, shoes, and knapsack, which he had taken off the evening before, and which had served him as a pillow during his fatal sleep. He staggered to his feet, dressed his wounds as well as he could, slung his broken arm through his neck handkerchief, and maimed and crippled, resumed his slow and toilsome progress towards home. He subsisted upon roots, leaves and herbs such as he could find suitable for the purpose upon his route, and an occasional ■ Cyrenus Parks had a brother named Joseph, who, after the war, lived on his brother's place, near neighbor to William. As he was a whig and patriot in senti- ment, he and the Harrises were very amicable in their relations, until a mis- understanding arose between them in regard to some business transaction, when a gradual coolness ensued, which, for a while, estranged them. One morning Joseph called upon William, manifesting a disposition to conciliate and make friends again. In great good humor, he related several anecdotes, and border adventures, until he thought his listener had reached a genial frame of mind ; when leading his way quietly and gradually to the subject, he asked William if he would not be willing to overlook the past, and forgive his brother Cyrenus, if the latter would make a suitable acknowledgment, and ask his forgiviness. Springing from his seat in a tempest of rage, the old scout replied with an oath : " No, he tried to kill me in cool blood, and if I ever get a chance I'll shoot him." Joseph still pressed and argued the matter until Harris's suspicions were aroused, and he exclaimed : " Joseph, Cyrenus is at your house, and if he wants to live he had better keep out of my way." The next night Cyrenus made his escape to Canada. The yjopular tradition that Harris tracked him to the St. Lawrence river and shot him as he was crossing that stream, is declared by the family to be vvitliout warrant, and untrue. THE HARRIS TRADITIONS. 489 frog dressed with his remaining hand, aided by his teeth, and eaten raw. At length he came out on the bank of a stream. While standing upon its gravelly beach, looking around for materials with which to construct a raft, the stream being deep and rapid, and he unable to swim, he suddenly caught sight of two men cautiously reconnoitering from some distance above him. He immediately concealed himself among the thick bushes and rank vegetation along the stream, and crept back in the woods to an old tree top, which had been his place of concealment and lodging the night before. After awaiting some time, and reflecting that his situation could be made but little worse even by a return to captivity, he resolved to go back and surrender himself to the lurking foe. He accordingly went back and again discovered the two men cautiously peering at him through the brushwood. Stepping boldly out in sight, he beckoned to them to approach, when, to his great joy, he found that they were two Dutchmen from the Mohawk valley, comrades of his, who had also escaped on the night of the attack. They dressed his wounds which were found in a putrid con- dition, and swarming with maggots. They also adjusted his broken arm, dressing it with splints prepared from barks of trees and bound it together with his handkerchief. The next day they constructed a raft, and crossed the stream. Fortu- nately, Harris had a hook and line in his pocket, and coming to a good sized brook, they encamped, and caught a fine string of trout, which they cooked and ate, the first warm meal they had enjoyed since they left the island. Continuing their journey, they came after some days' travel upon a small clearing and log house. One of the three went forward, after carefully and cautiously reconnoitering to see that no enemy was around, and begged of the woman of the house. She proved to be French. They were still in Canada. She gave the messenger to understand that she had no food to give, that her husband was away from home, and that their place was visited almost daily by armed bands of Indians and tories. A loaf of corn bread baked in the ashes was, after some search, discovered carefully hidden away, which the fugitive 62 490 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. eagerly seized and carried to his companions. They made what haste they could to get out of this dangerous locality. After many more days' wandering, they came out upon the settle- ments of the Lower Coos, now Bellows Falls, on the Connec- ticut river. Here the trio parted, the two Dutchmen proceed- ing to Cherry Valley by the way of Albany, and Harris re- paired to Il^ew Perth, now Salem, ^ in Charlotte county, where his wounds were first regularly and properly dressed by Dr. Williams, then member of the colonial legislature, and colonel of militia. His wounds were a long time in healing.^ After ' During his convalescence, lie stayed with Abner Carswell of Salem, who was a distant relative. — Relation of Benjamin Harris. " The following story is related by the late David Wilson, Esq., in an article entitled " The Pioneer's Revenge." " An Indian doctor, in his periodical peregrinations was passing Harris's house, on his route to a neighboring swamp to gather herbs and roots for his simple materia medica. Harris's children, who inherited all their sire's antipathy for the aborignes, insulted the medicine man with blackguard and missives until he lost all patience and threatened to tomahawk them. His menace, though intended only to frighten the troublesome urchins, was sufficient for Harris ; seizing his rifle, he followed the unsuspecting and imoffending disciple of Esculapius to the woods, and, if tradition may be credited, shot him through the head, and sunk the body in the deep, sluggish brook which found its way through the middle of the morass. Although no one at the time knew with certainty what had become of the Indian doctor, the report darkly hinted that Harris had done his business for him, amply confirmed by his well known antipathy to the red race, reached the tribe, and according to their invariable custom, a powerful warrior was deputed to re- taliate the injury, by the death of the murderer. ***** The brave, sent to avenge the death of the medicine man, lurked about the precincts of Harris hollow for some days without discovering himself, lest he should excite suspicion. At length observing a single man hoeing corn in a field adjacent to lus retreat, he made up to him and civilly requested to be directed to Harris's cabin. The savage had never seen the foe of his race and knew not that he was addressing the redoubtable Leather Stocking himself, or the mission might have found a speedy end in the death of one or the other of the implacable foes. Harris at once penetrated his design, and comprehended at a glance the extent of his own danger, and with a characteristic coolness proceeded to anticipate it. " Harris is a neighbor of mine," he said, " it is two miles to his house by the road, but if the other pleased he himself would conduct him thither by a short route." The savage assented, and the settler, shouldering his hoe, led the way to the ad- joining woods. Watching a favorable opportunity, the treacherous guide leveled a blow at the head of the confiding savape with his hoe, and felled him to the ground with a single stroke. Quickly dispatched, the son of the forest was as quickly buried, and Harris returned home from tlie deed of blood in moody silence ***** Harris hollow was thenceforth unmolested, and its original proprietor lived to rehearse, in garrulous old age, to its prosperous and rapidly increasing population, the oft repeated tale of the " Pioneer's Revenge." V ,\ ANCIENT DESCRIPTION OP THE TOWN. 49 his recovery it is stated that he served as a minute man, or one of the reserve militia until the close of the war. As a fittino^ close to this chapter, we append the following . \^ description of Queeusbury and Glen's Falls as they appeared to a visitor at the end of the year 1780.^ * * * * " On leaving the valley, and pursuing the road to Lake George, is a tolerable military position which was occu- pied in the war before the last ; it is a sort of entrenched camp, adapted to abattis guarding the passage from the woods, and commanding the valley. ******* Arrived at the height of the cataract, it was necessary to quit our sledges and walk ' Travels in North America in the years 1780, 1781, and 1782, by the Marquis de Chastellux one of the forty members of the French academy, and major general in the French army, under the Count de Rochambeau. Eng. Translation, London, 1787, vol. I, pp. 419-23. Some vindication of the memory of Col. Sherwood seems called for in this con- nection from the unj ust aspersions against his reputation which have been handed down not only in popular tradition, but perpetuated in published official docu- ments.' Some of the crade statements in fire side stories conveyed the impro- bable and monstrous charge that he had been bought up and bribed to surrender by the enemy. There were stories, too, of a private conference between the two commanding officers, before the capitulation, which lasted many hours. That these charges were utterly without foundation, should be apparent to any candid and unprejudiced person, when it is borne in mind, that the investing force outnumbered the garrison, over ten to one ; that they were better armed ; that the fort itself was a weak, wooden structure ; and the garrison short of ammunition, having only ten rounds to a man. This opinion is more than sustained by the following extract from a letter written by Stephen Lush of Albany, Oct. 13, 1780, to Governor Clinton.' When " summoned by Major Carleton of the enemy, he refused, but upon parading their forces, amounting to 850 British, Indians and tories, in view of the garrison, they surrendered prisoners of war." An article in Loudon's New York Packet, and American Advertiser, October 19th, 1780, states as follows. "They" (Carleton's party) " having cannon with them, and the fort being only stockaded, every shot made a break. It was, how- ever, defended by Captain Sherwood, with the greatest gallantry. "^ One of the traditions related to the author by Moses Harris was, that the investing force set fire to the fort before the surrender, by firing hot cannon shot against and into it. Taking these statements in connection with the fact that Sherwood was ap- pointed to various offices of trust and responsibility, both civil and military, with- in a short period after the termination of hostilities, and while the knowledge and memory of these events was still fresh in the public mind, it would seem that these calumnies must, for all time, fall pointless and innocuous to the ground. 1 lu Governor Clinton's report of thisaffiiir to Washington he says : "The little post and garrison of Fort Anne, appears to me to have been surrendered through treachery or coward- ice." — Sparks's LeMers to Washington, vol. iii, p. 1.33. The same charge was repeated by Washington himself, probably on the same authority. " Uough's Northern Invasion, p . 89 . 3 Hough's Northern Invasion, p . 122. 492 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. half a mile to the bauk of the river. The snow was fifteen inches deep, which rendered this walk rather difficult, and obliged us to proceed in Indian file. In order to make a path, each of us put ourselves alternately at the head of this little column, as the wild geese relieve each other to occupy the summit of the angles they form in their flight. But had our march been still more difficult, the sight of the cataract was an ample recompense. It is not a sheet of water as at Cohos, and at Totohaw ; the river confined, and interrupted in its course by diffiBrent rocks, glides through the midst of them, and pre- cipitating itself obliquely, forms several cascades. That of Cohos is more majestic, this, more terrible ; the Mohawk river seemed to fall from its own dead weight; that of the Hudson frets, and becomes enraged, it foams, and forms whirlpools, and flies like a serpent making its escape, still continuing its menaces by horrible hissings. ***** On their return, the party stopped again at Fort Edward to warm by the fire of the officers" who command the garrison. They are five iu number, and have about one hundred and fifty soldiers. They are stationed in this desert for the whole winter." ^ei^^t^^^^^tA^^ ^ XX GEN. STARK RESUMES COM^IAND. 493 I CHAPTER XV. Gen. Stark Resumes the Command of the Northern Depart- ment — Troubles on the Border — Destitution op the Troops — Suspected Persons removed from the Front — The Vermont Controversy — Warlike Rumors — Block-House erected at Saratoga — Termination op the War and Declaration op Peace — Election op Town Officers — General Washington visits the Town — Appearance of the Village — Settlement Progresses — First Quaker Meeting House built — Adven- ture OF Peter Peck — Annoyances from Wolves — Murder op Daniel Fairchild — The Grave Yard at the Round Pond — Number op Voters in Town — Liquidation op Quitrents — Visit op Jefferson and Madison — Conclusion. [OR the two years following the events narrated in the last chapter, the history of Queensbury remains a blank, so far as the town or other local records are concerned. By an order dated at ISTew Windsor, June 25th, 1781, General "Washington directed General Stark to assume the command of the northern department, with instructions to establish his head quarters at Saratoga.^ At this time, all the continental troops had been recalled to the south. The quota detained for the protection of this ex- posed quarter, consisted of a few levies of raw militia from New York and New England. The thinly settled territory now embraced by the fertile and populous counties of Washington and Saratoga, was the frequent scene of robberies and murders. The whole country north of Albany, was infested with bands of tories, and lawless vagabonds who, under the shelter of the British authorities at Ticonderoga made bloody reprisals, and wrought out savage and cruel retribution for real or fancied wrongs. The country was demoralized, and the irregular, half ' The following is a copy of the order. " You •will be pleased, therefore, to re- pair to Saratoga, and establish your head quarters at that place, retaininpr with you four hundred of the troops frona Massachusetts and sending the other two hundred to Col. Willett, who will remain in command upon the Mohawk river, as his popularity in that country will enable him to reader essential services there." Stark's Memoirs, p. 211. 494 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. fed and worse armed militia afforded but little protection against the thoroughly appointed and well disciplined forces of the enemy. So critical was their situation (from the want of sup- plies), that in a letter to the governor, of May 3d, General Clin- ton mentions the fact that a small scout, commanded by a cor- poral, in the neighborhood of Fort George, having captured a party of the enemy, with a packet, had been bribed to release them, for a guinea each, and two silk handkerchiefs.^ The troubles with Vermont contributed largely to the insecurity of the New York frontier, and under color of negotiations with the partisans of that territory, frequent incursions and forays were made on the exposed settlements north of Albany. Ballston was harried and burned by bands of tories and Indians, one of which was led by the infamous Joe Bettys. In return, and by way of offset, " over sixty families suspected of disaffection to the American cause, were removed from Ballston and vicinity by Captains John Carlisle and Oothout accompanied by a small party of Indians. Being distressed for provisions, they drew very liberally from the stores of the disaffected.^ Suspecting treasonable correspondence to be going forward between the Vermont leaders, and the British authorities, General Schuyler once more called into requisition the services of Moses Harris, and Fish,^ who were set to work to ferret out the intrigue, but there is no evidence at hand to show that 1 American Barder Wars, by William L. Stone. ^Idem. " Ballstown is, I am told, a pass through which the enemy will pro- bably advance." Gen. Heath to Gen. Stark, Sept. 24, 1781. — Memoir of John Stark, p. 2G0. ' Among the Clinton papers on file in the State Library at Albany is a com- munication from Harris, showing that he had been in conference with a party of the enemy from Canada, among whom were David Higginbottom, Caleb Closeu, and Andrew Rakely {See ante, pp. 447. and 4G7), under the command of Ensign Smith, formerly of Albany, and revealing a plot by which the people of the grants (Vermont) were to lay down their arms, and the British were to advance to the south end of Lake George and erect fortifications with a view to the command and occupation of the contiguous country. " Schuyler was not at that time in the army, having exchanged the military for the civil service of his country two years before. Still his military exertions were almost as great, and his counsels were as frequently sought and as highly valued, as tliough he were yet in command of the department. Added to which, he had been specially charged by the commander in chief with the prosecution of all practicable measures for intercepting the communications of the enemy." — Btone'a Life of Brant, vol. ii, p. 175. r TROUBLES ON THE BORDER. 495 their efforts were successful to any considerable degree, or reached any practical result. The sturdy Indian fighter and hardy borderer were no match for the astute politiciaus of Ver- mont, who managed for two years to play fast and loose with the Canadian authorities, and the continental congress, being loyal and true to neither. During the entire season, the camp at Saratoga was kept astif by the frequent rumors of intended forays, ^ or the intelligence of some freshly committed outrage along the border. Occa- sional small parties of the enemy were captured, or a venturous spy returned, whose stories of warlike preparations in Canada, did not tend to allay the gloomy apprehensions of the feeble garrison. Early in the fall, another descent was made by the way of the Sacandaga upon the doomed settlement of Johnstown, and the adjacent region, by Maj. Ross, and the notorious Walter Butler, at the head of a large body of tories and Indians. The expedition proved disastrous to the invaders, who were attacked and repelled with considerable loss by Col. Marinus Willett, and the force under his command, Butler himself being killed on the retreat.^ On the 11th of September, General Stark at Saratoga wrote to Major General Heath as follows: "I have this day, almost certain intelligence of there being a large detachment of the enemy at St. Johns destined for this quarter."^ ' Extract of a letter from Col. Claus to Capt. Brant, dated Montreal, March 3d, 1781. " I was informed that the rebels had posted themselves at a place called Palmerstown, about twelve or fifteen miles west of Saraghtoga. * * * His Ex- cellency, General Haldimand, * * * has for some time intended sending a party of about sixty chosen loyalists, under the command of Major Jessup, toward Fort Edward ; this party might join Joseph against Palmerstown." — " Happily," says Mr. Stone, " from some cause unknown, this project, so well devised, and apparently so near its maturity, was never executed." — Stone's Life of Brant, vol. ii, p. 144. Memoir of John Stark, p. 225. John St.oik." To Col. Henry Laurens : Albany Aug. 27th, 1781. Dear Sir : By a spy, who has been on board of the enemy's ships at Crown Point, we learn that their intention is to make a push upon this place, to alarm the New Hampshire grants by way of Castleton, and gather all the tories in this quarter, who are to be met by General Howe's army near this place. Therefore I should advise you to keep your men in readiness. Your Obed't Serv't, " Campbell's Annals of Tryon County, p. 208. ^ Memoir of John Stark, p. 249. 496 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. On the 12th of October following, Genl. Schuyler, in reply- to a communication from Gen. Stark, wrote : " At 6 o'clock this morning, I was favored with yours, announcing the arrival of the enemy on the south end of Lake George."^ These and many other reports and stories, some conjectural and contradictory, are to be accounted for and reconciled only by taking into account the negotiations going forward between Vermont and Canada, and the movements that were being made by Gen. Haldimand during that period, to conciliate the people of the grants on the one hand, and intimidate and occupy the attention of the troops on the New York frontier at the same time. General Enos, ^ who was stationed at Castleton with a detachment of the Green mountain boys, was fully in the secret of the cabal who were carrying forward the intrigue ; and just maintained the semblance of activity, which playing at war in the interest of the conspirators. ^ At the close of the year, in partial compliance with a request, of General Stark for the better protection of the northern frontier, Lord Stirling, then in command of the department, ordered two block houses to be built at Saratoga. In Novem- ber a general order of thanks was issued to the troops of the department. "With this act, excepting an insurrection among the troops at St. Coick and White Creek, arising from the * Memoir of John Stark, p. 271. " Headquarters Castleton, Oct. 26th, 1781. " " General Enos to General Stark " Dear Sir : — Captain Salisbury this instant returned as a scout from the Mount, ■which he left last evening. He lay in sight of the enemy's works the chief part of the day. They are repairing the fortification at [Ticonderoga], and have covered the long barracks. Nearly two hundred cattle were employed in drawing cannon, etc., from their boats. "Behind the old French line appeared a large number of smokes, where it is sup- posed the chief part of their army is quartered. Colonel Walbridge informs me by express, that he has not as yet made any discovery from Lake George and that quarter. He has my directions, in case of any important discoveries, to make im- mediate returns to you. "I am. Sir, Your most Obed'th'ub'l Serv't. Memoir of John Stark, p. 283. " Roger Enos." Nov. 2, 1781, Gen. Enos writes another letter to Gen'l Stark from Fort Anne, asking for cartridges and bread ; and speaks of hearing firing both of cannon, and small arms at Fort Edward that morning, and announces his intention of return- ing to Castleton. — Idem., p. 284. » Stone' 8 Life of Brant, vol. ii, pp. 201-5, inclusive. CLOSE OF THE WAR. 497 Vermont troubles, the events of the campaign and of the war were ended. "On the 19th of April 1783, the day which completed the eighth year of the war, the cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, was, by order of General Washington, proclaimed in the American camp."^ — On Tuesday, the sixth day of May fol- lowing, the customary town meeting was held, and the following list of officers elected. Moderator — Abraham "Wing. Town Clerk — Benjamin Wing. Supervisors — ISTehemiah Seelye, and Phineas Babcock. Constables — William Robards, and David Buck. Assessors — David Bennett, Wm. Robards and James Higson. Pathmasters — Benjamin Wing and Silas Brown. Overseers of the Poor — Abraham Wing, andBenedickBrown. Collector — Nehemiah Seelye. Treasurer — Abraham Wing. Fence Viewers, and Prisers of Damage — Phineas Babcock, David Bennett and Jeremiah Briggs. The first event following, to which the finger of tradition points, is the visit of General Washington and a portion of his staff, during the month of July (probably the 19th or 21st), on his way to inspect the posts at Lake George, Ticonderoga, and Crown Poiut.^ On this occasion the cavalcade halted, and hailing Walter Briggs, who was at work in an adjoining field, he came up and with a tin pail helped the party to water from the upper branch of the Butler brook. The fruits of a permanent peace soon became apparent, and the wilderness border again put on the aspect of culture and thrift. " The first clearing (at Glen's Falls), was limited to the hill which rises from the falls, and in the year 1783, presented only a wheat field, with a solitary smoke on its border, and two other dwellings in the vicinity of the forest. These houses were built after the architecture of the first settlers, of a few rough logs, placed one upon another, the interstices filled with straw, and a mixture of mud and clay. But in the year 1784, an individual of the name of Haviland, (Abraham, a blacksmith by calling), erected, to use a graphical expression, a small ^ Seafs Pictorial Histoi'y of the American Revolution. " iSpai'/cs'g Life and Writings of Washington, vol. viii, pp. 465, 467, 488. 63 498 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. framed house, near the hotel in the upper part of the village,* which was soon followed by that now occupied by Mr. lioyal Leavins,^ completed upon the model of an old fashioned Massa- chusetts country house ; which two buildings were consequently the first of the kind which graced our landscape."^ On the 26th of January 1784, the inhabitants of Fort George were annexed to the Queensbury district by a vote of the in- habitants.* The same year, by act of legislature, the name of Charlotte was changed to that of Washington county. * On the site now occupied by Ferguson's store, corner of South and Glen streets. ^ The dwelling now owned and occupied by J. W. Finch, Esq., since the above was written added to and much improved. ^ From a series of articles entitled " Recollections," No's, one, two, and three, over the signature of" Harlow, " published in the Wai're7i Messenger, of Feb'y 5th, 12th, and 19th, 1831, in which the writer continues as follows : " As early as 1786-7, the fruit of their reflections were seen, a small, rudely constructed school-house now the residence of Mrs. Flannagan. (Now the site of the author's residence No. 17 Elm street). * * * " The village of Glen's Falls, was formerly known by the name of Wing's Falls, a name probably derived from Mr. Abraham Wing, one of the first emigrants to this place, who lived in a log building which occupied the spot of Mr. L. L. Pixley's store. * * * " Then followed the dams, the one above, and the other below the falls, and the mill seats afforded by them, owned and occupied by Mr. Benjamin Wing, and Gen. (Warren) Ferriss. Only one of these dams is still remaining — that at the head of the rapids, now a bank of five feet high, and about 600 broad, over which the river pours its waters in one unbroken sheet. * * * An Indian, for a trifling reward, paddled his canoe to the brink of the precipice, and then shot like lightning into the gulf to disappear forever, and the same is related of many others who dared the fury of the cataract. " But it is safe to leap from any of the rocks, at the southern point of the island or as far west as the bridge. — This was fully attested by Cook, who jumped three successive times from the old king-post, into the water beneath (the gulf at the foot of the arch), and returned, exclaiming like Patch ' there's no mistake.' " * Who the residents were, appears from the following, taken from the N. T. legislative papers. (Jonathan Pitcher^^hen kept a sort of rude tavern at the head of the lake. Hugh McAuTey'was also another inhabitant of Lake George at that time. Robert Nesbit, who was in trade there for several years, did not come until June, 1785. " The Petition of Jonathan Pitcher, Gurdon Chamberlin, Wyatt Chamberlin and Isaac Doty, residing on a tract of land at the South end of Lake George com- monly called Garrison Land, humbly sheweth ; That your Petitioners, some time since, being desirous to emigrate from the Old Settlements, and to fix ourselves on the Frontier of the State, did obtain, from the Surveyor Genl. of the state. Leases of the Lands whereon we now reside, which Leases being only for the Term of One Year, induceth us to address Your Hon'ble Body on the Subject. Your Petitioners having removed our families to this place at great Expense from a very considera- ble distance, ardently wish to continue on the same, and do most humbly pray that THE PECK FASHLY. 499 Mrs. Emma Goss, but lately deceased, who with her father, James Stevenson, removed to the town in 1785, stated that there were then but 18 families in the whole town. The de- struction of the mills during the revolutionary war, compelled the inhabitants for a while to go, either to Jessup's Falls, or Fort Miller, for their bread stuifs.^ About this time the first place of worship in town, a log meeting house,^ was built by the society of Friends on the south side of the Half-way brook, adjoining the west side of the road leading to Dunham's bay. Here too was kept the first school in town, and here was the first burial ground, where the fathers of the town, and their first-born, rested undisturbed by the shrill cry of the panther, or the nightly long drawn howl of the predatory wolf. Among the new comers at this time was the Peck family. Peter Peck, a cooper by trade, and the father of Reuben, Daniel and Edmund Peck, moved to this place about the year 1785, from Litchfield, Connecticut. He purchased a large farm, or rather tract of wilderness stretching from the Big Cedar swamp on the east, to the road leading to Dunham's bay on the west. A family by the name of Varney then occupied a log house situated just north of the Half-way brook, on the west side of the Bay road. Peck made it his home with these people for a short time and was persuaded by them to build his our Leases may be renewed for as long a Term of time as your Hon'ble Body sliall deem most eligible ; or that any other mode may be adopted, whereby your peti- tioners may be allowed to occupy the premises. — Lake George, Dec. 30, 1783. ' " Uncle Silas Brown used to back grists over the mountain by a line of blazed trees, afterwards a bridle path to Jessup's grist-mill, in what is now called Lu- zerne, during and after the revolution. The mill was located on a small stream near Thurlow Leavin's house." ^- Relatio7i of Joseph Varney, 11th Jan'y, 1868. [Josiah Varney, Joseph's father, married Lydia, a daughter of Benedick Brown. Joseph was born 30th Oct., 1787, in a log dwelling which stood on the west side of Bay road about 3 miles north of the village.] " Had to go to Jessup's patent to mill when father first came here in 1785." — Relation of Mrs. Emma Goss, July, 1860. " Its dimensions were about 20 X 30 feet. It stood within the limits of a small, enclosed parcel of ground, used even to the present day as a place of burial. It has been described by those remembering it, as a long, low building, roughly ceiled on the inside, divisible by a movable or sliding partition into two parts, and provided with rough benches for seating the congregation. It had two en- trance doors and was lighted by small windows placed high up towards the roof. Here the first and second generations of the Friends of Queensbury met and wor- shipped, and in the limits of that field their remains repose without a monument or mark to designate their resting place from the common earth by which they are surrounded. 500 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURT. house at a point nearly half way between the Ridge and Bay roads, they representing it, probably for the sake of having nearer neighbors, to be the most eligible and desirable point on his tract for that purpose. He accordingly commenced his clearing, dug a well, but find- ing the land too low for a dwelling abandoned the improvement, and erected a substantial log house on the Ridge road, then called the new road, on the site of the brick house now owned and occupied by Mr. Amos Graves. His nearest neighbor north lived in a log house situated to the east of the old Roger Haviland farm house. The spot it occupied is now part of an open, cultivated field. There was another log dwelling on the ground now covered by the Reuben Numan residence. There were also one or two other log houses in the neighborhood, which comprised all that portion of the then existing settlement to the south of what was subsequently designated as Sanford's ridge. The road was then newly cut through the forest, the stumps still remaining, with fallen trees, decayed logs and rub- bish laying across. It was hardly a respectable bridle path, and the unbroken wilderness stretched away from it on either hand for miles and miles save the three or four small clearings around the buildings above mentioned. During the summer of 1786, Peck accompanied by his young- est son, Edmund, then a lad five or six years old, started on horseback for the purpose of assisting to secure the harvest of a neighbor, David Ferriss, who lived in a small house on the side hill just south of the Half-way brook — on the east side of the road now leading to the Oneida. At night-fall he started on his return with his little boy seated before him on the horse. The dense forest soon shut out the last faint light of day, and he was obliged to stumble forward in the dark as best he might, trusting mainly to the sagacity of his horse for keeping in the road. At length, in endeavoring to guide his horse around the upturned roots of a large, fallen tree which obstructed the way, he found to his consternation that he had lost the path. After spending some considerable time in a fruitless eflfort to regain the road, groping his way from tree to tree in the thick darkness, the thought occurred to him that a loud outcry might arouse the family he had just left — and that some one would come to his assistance with lanterns or torches. He accordingly THE PECK FAMILY. 501 commenced shouting at the top of his lungs, and presently fan- cied he heard the call returned. He called again, and the answer was repeated more distinctly. The calls and answers were then repeated in rapid succession, until he discovered to his horror that it was no human voice which responded to his alarm, but that of the dreaded panther. With an alacrity inspired of terror, Peck dismounted, and feeling his way rapidly along, at length he came to a large tree with low branching boughs to one of which he fastened his horse, and climbing the tree, found a refuge for himself and boy, on a large projecting limb. Through the entire length of that long and dreary night, the panther prowled around this retreat, at one moment threat- ening an attack upon the frightened horse, and at another stealthily rustling through leaves of the adjacent tree tops, awaiting an unguarded moment to make his fearful spring. A few raps with a stout cudgel on the trunk of the tree, from time to time, served to deter the brute from making his attack, until the morning light made its most welcome appearance, when the ferocious monster with low growls slunk away towards the re- cesses of the Big Cedar swamp. As soon as the light became distinct enough to enable the benighted traveler to find his way, he descended from his perch, and to his great satisfaction discovered the road at no great distance, and remounting the horse with his boy — soon after reached his home in safety. On his way he saw another huge panther apparently asleep in the top of a high tree, but on his return with a rifle the animal was gone. It had very probably made its way back to the big swamp which for a long period afterward afforded a safe covert for these and other ferocious denizens of the forest. The inhabitants here in those early times were much annoyed by wolves which ravaged sheep-folds even when under the very eaves of the dwellings. One instance is narrated of these rave- nous brutes killing and gnawing oft' the heads of sheep that were yarded in a covered log pen. Within the present century the tradition is preserved in the Pitcher family, then living on the confines of the "Wild Cat swamp, less than a mile west of the heart of the village, of the yearly ravages of the wolves among: their stock, and of the various devices resorted to in endeavoring to frighten and keep them away. Then, too, the rocks and ledges along the river were one continuous den of rattlesnakes, and the swamps, forests, and hill-sides from Sara- 502 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. toga to Lake George were infested bj this dangerous and malignant reptile. For a period of nearly fifty years after the settlement of the township, an annual bounty, varying in amount from five to twenty dollars, was voted for each wolf killed in the town. The rattlesnakes were slowly but surely exterminated by the hogs that ran half wild among the unfenced commons on the borders of the settlement. In the early days of which we write, but little need was had for litigation. Whatever troubles and difficulties originated between the members of the society of Friends, were adjusted among themselves; and with all a rude sense of equity prevailed as a rule of action ; and some rough border justice was pre- ferred to the intricate formalities of legal statutes as expounded by the courts. Among the earliest settlers in the western part of the town was Daniel Fairchild. He dwelt in a clearing on the eastern slope of the Luzerne mountain ; near the road which now leads west from the Forge pond. Being suspected of a crime which shall here be nameless, a warrant was obtained from a justice of the peace named Josiah Russell, living on what is known as the Crannell place above the old church at Jessup's Little falls. This precept was rather strongly worded, requiring that the suspected party be brought before him immediately, " either dead or alive." It was placed in the hands of one of the Ortons for execution. Accompanied by a posse of eager and excited volunteer constabulary, he pro- ceeded, armed for the occasion, as the process implied, to the dwelling of the culprit to make the arrest. The place was reached at dark, and the house surrounded so as to cut oft" the possibility of escape. Fairchild became alarmed at the sight of such a crowd of men, and possibly overheard some threats and menaces. He ran out of the house into a shed near by, when one of the party mistaking his intentions, and supposing that he meditated either resistance or escape, deliberately drew up his musket and shot him dead in his tracks. Esquire Rus- sell was afterwards tried for this act, at a court held in Fort Edward, and only escaped conviction for manslaughter, through some legal technicalit3\ The oldest monumental inscription in town, is on a quaintly INDEMNITY FOR LOSSES IN THE WAR. 503 ground at the Round carved gravestone in the little hurial pond near the Oneida.^ A registry of a senatorial election, under the property quali- fication in 1786, shows the names of thirty-six voters, an evi- dence of the rapid increase of the population in the few years that had elapsed since the war.^ The losses which the inhabit- • Mention is elsewliere made of the Baptist cliurch, at this place. The burial ground belonged to this society, being deeded to it by Augustine Odell for that purpose. The following is a copy of the inscription, mentioned. 0! Relentless Death ! To the Memory of Mrs. Lydia Sargent the amiable and virtuous consort of Doctr. Isaac 'Sargent of VVestfield, & eldest Daughter of William Robards Esq. & Mrs. Phebe his wife of Queensbury, who died October 11th 1794 ; aged 18 years 10 Mo. and G days. As here you see my body lie. Dear Mortals that are passing by Let this to you a warning be. That you prepare to follow me. "^Registry of an Election in Queensbury in 1786. — This is supposed to contain the names of all who were then qualified to vote for Senators and AssembljTuen. Att an Election held in Queensbury, May the 3 by an adjurnment. 1786 Candates for Candates for Sinnet Assemblymen fcj) Electors Names. S Abrom Wing, William Tripp, 1 David Seelye, 1 David Bennett, 1 Thomas Tripp 1 Elisha Folger, 1 Bennedick Brown, 1 Justice Brown, 1 Yolentine Brown, 1 Ebeuezar Buck, 1 Howgal Brown, 1 Jeremiah Briggs, 1 Silas Brown, 1 James Tripp, 1 Jonathan Tripp, 1 James Stevenson, 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 PQ ;g ■ ;2 > 02 ^ 02 p^a Fh ■n a r=! 13 OJ w ^ m 504 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. ants had suffered during the war, and the unsettled condition of the country had disabled them from paj^ing their quitrents, now lapsed to the state by the change of government; and the back arrearages had accumulated to a sum that was quite be- yond their means. In order to obtain some indemnity for the sacrifices and losses suffered by reason of the war, a plea was made and allowed in abatement and liquidation of all just in- debtedness and future claims from the state.''^ Josi Varney, Hosea Howard, James Butler, Richard Bennet,. . . , William Guy, , Walter Briggs, . . . , John Martin, David Bennet, Edward Fooller, . . Natlianiel Odle, Nathaniel Varney,. , Jonathan Hubbel,. . Stephen Lapham,. . , onathan Pitcher, . . Henry Martin, , Benjamin Wing,. . . Phinhehas Babcock, James Hixen, Stephen Howard,. . . Miles Washborn,. . . 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ' The following extracts from the Town Records will serve to verify the fore- going statement, as well also to show who were the sufferers and the amount of their claims for indemnity. It constitutes a rare and valuable link in the chain of historical narrative. Auditors Office, New York, 10th December 1789. I do hereby certify that I have receiv'd Sundry Certificates signed by Ebenezer [Russel Judge for Wash- ington County setting forth that the following persons were possessed of the number of acres Set opposite their respective names in a Pattent granted Daniel Prindel & others 29th May, 1763, and that on account of the war they were oblig'd to quit their Farms viz Acrs. Lot 29 Abraham Wing Junr 150 29 & 82 Nath. Babcock, Willett & Daniel Wing, 450 102 Asa & Parks Putnam, 250 31 Daniel Hull, 150 23&29 Charls Lewis, 150 7 Ebenezer & Nathaniel Ful- Igp 250 22 & 23 Russeil Lewis, '.",*.'. 150 37 Anstice & Sarah Hicks, . . . 250 36 & 29 Mary Lewis, 160 103 Howgil k, Timothy Brown, 250 39 Silas Brown, 150 Acres 4050 And I further Certify that the above mentioned Persons are thereby discharged from paying all past and future Quit Rents for the Quantity of acres set opposite Acrs, 87 Truelove Butler 150 77 William Roberts Junr., & Ebenr. Roberts, 250 26 & 2 William Robberts 110 82 & 20, 35, 36, & 40, William Wing, 90 36 Andrew Lewis, 150 38 Benedick Brown, 150 23 James Higson, 150 23 Abraham Wing, 150 15 Benjamin & Nehemiah Wing, . 250 2 Reed Ferriss & Caleb Powel, 250 COMPARATIVE VALUATION OF PROPERTY. 505 As an evidence of the comparative valuation of property in the town at this time we append the following minute of pro- ceedings of the board of supervisors of the county of Washing- ton, held at the house of George Kilmer in the town of Argyle their respective names amounting in the whole to four thousand and Fifty Six acres in the above Pattent. Peter S. Curtenius State audr In Patent granted to Daniel Prindle «&c for 23000 acres Land in Albany County d'ted 20th May 1762 @ 2 | 6 Sterling ^ 100 acres ^ annum 510 acres Reed Ferriss from 20th May 1763 to 20th May 1787 is 25 years Deduct 8 17 years @ 22 | 4 £18,, 19„ 4 Received New York 27th May 1787 from Reed Ferriss "^ the hands of Jonathan Akin Publick Securitys which with the Interest alow'd thereon amounts to Eighteen Pounds Nineteen Shillings & four pense in full for the arrears of Quit Rent on 510 acres in the above Patent — £18:19:4 Peter S. Curtenius Receiver of Quit Rents Pattent granted Daniel Prindle & others for 23000 acres Land in Albany County 20th May 1762 at 2 | 6 Sterlg ^ 100 acres "§ annum Nathaniel Stevenson ) from 20th May 1762 Lot No. 27 25 acres J to 29th Sept. 1787 is Y. 25 Deduct 8 14 years Commutation M. 4 D. 9 17„ 4„ 9@10 I lli:9„9:10 10 I UM 7„13„2 17„3 Receiv'd 28th Decemr 1789 from Enoch Hoag Publick Securities with Interest calculated to 27 Septemr 1787 amounting to Seventeen Pounds Three Shillings in full for Quit & Commutation on Two Hundred & Fifty acres Land in the above Pattent. POSSESSORS NAMES. NO. ACRES. NO. LOTS. Valentine Brown, 150 41 Schuvler Brown, 100 41 Phebe Kobberds, 145 26 Joseph Hepburn, 150 49 Ebenezer Fuller Junr.,. . 150 50 Benjamin Fuller, 100 50 Edward Fuller, 125 38 Patrick Hepburn 1.50 48 & 57 Matthew Fuller, 125 33 Justus Brown, 125 39 John Akin, 150 84 Albro Akin 100 84 Sarah Akin, 150 84 Thomas Worth, .125 51 Barsil^a Worth 125 51 Peter S. Curtenius State audr POSSESSORS NAMES. NO. ACRES. NO. LOTS. John Totfv, 150 44 Hulet Toffy, 100 44 James Ferriss, 150 57 Nathaniel Taber, 100 57 William Taber, 100 3 Ephraim Woodard, 150 3 David Ferris, 100 12 Benjamin Collins 100 12 Ichabod Merritt, 150 1 Joseph Merritt, 100 1 James Stephenson, 125 88 Jafob Stevenson, 150 90 Stephen Stephenson, ... . 100 90 3595 acres Washington County ss. I do hereby certify that the above named persons in the County of Washington has given me Satisfactory proof that they Resided and are owners on their Respective Farms annexed to their Names in pattent granted to Daniel Prindle and others Dated 20th May, 1762, and that on account of the Late war were respectively obliged to (luit their Farms by tlie Incursions of the enemy. Joiix Williams one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas Washington County. Given under my hand this 28 day of December, 1791. G4 506 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. on the 1st Tuesday in September, 1786. The town of Queens- bury was represented on this occasion b}' Phineas Babcock, Esq. The quota of the respective towns was equalized as follows : £ .s d. Argyle, 59 6 7 CrownpoiDt, 300 Granville, 67 16 Hampton, 21 4 Hebron, 63 11 3 Kingsbury, . 50 17 Queensbury, 50 17 Salem, lUl 13 7 Westfield, 33 18 Whitehall,,, 50 17 Total £800 5 AuDiTOUS Office New York 33d March 1791, 1 certify that in Consequence of a Certificate signed by John Williams Judge for Washington County (of which the within is a true copy) the within named Persons are Thereby exempted from the payment of all past and Future Quitrents on the number of acors set opposite their Respective Names in the within Certificate. Peter S. Cuktenius. State Audr. In Patent jjranted to Daniel Prindle &c for 32000 acres Land in Albany County dated 20th May 1752 @ 2s 6d Sterlg "^100 acres "^ annum. 510 acres Reed Ferriss from 20th May 1762 to 20th May 1787 is 25 years Deduct 8 — 17 years @ 22s 4d £18 " 19 " 4 Rece'd New York 20th May 1787 from Reed Ferriss 1^ the hands of Jonathan Akin Public Securities which with the Interest allow'd thereon amounts to Eighteen Pounds Nineteen Shilling & four pence in full for the Arrears of Quit Rent on 510 acres in the above Patent. £18 " 19 " 4 Peter S. Curtenius Receiver of Quit Rents Possessora Names. Numbers. No. Lots. Peter Peck, 130 25 & No 3 Town Plot Reuben Peck, 125 30 William Tripp, 125 11 Jonathan Tripp, 125 11 . Jeremiah Brigos, 150 31 Nathaniel Varney, 160 30 ' Total 805 Auditors Office New York 1st april 1790 I do Certify that in consequence of the within Certificate the Persons therein named are exempted from all i)ast & future Quit Rent for the number of acres set opposite their respective names amounting in the whole to Eight Hundred & Five acres Land in the within mentioned Patent, Peter S. Curtenius State audr THE CONCLUSION. 507 In 1791 the two future presideuts, Jefferson and Madison, passed through this town, on their way to visit some of the many scenes of historic interest at the north. ^ During the few years following, which rounded up the century, mercantile and manufacturing interests gathered rapidly here ; professional men of rare talent were attracted to the place by the promise of its rapid growth, and its resources, even in, that early day, were operated with an energy, which in many instances commanded success, and won an enviable repute for industry and enterprise. The flow of emigration, which, in less than fifty years, has since peopled the once dense wilderness, and tar reaching prairies of the mighty west with a busy and teeming population, in the closing years of the century following the revolution, spent its first feeble waves along the sea shore, and the tide waters of our navigable rivers. During the first decade of the present century, that tide instead of seeking the then miasmatic flats, and rich alluvial pla,ins of the Genesee country, set rapidly northward along the old military routes where less than half a century before, mighty armies, flushed with the pride of con- quest, glowing with honors won on foreign fields of glory, dis- solved and disappeared beneath the sturdy blows and unerring rifle shots of the hunter chivalry which guarded our northern border. At that period, when the cities of the west and interior were the haunts of savages and beasts of prey. Glen's Falls was a County of Washington. I Certify that the above named Persons in the County of Washington lias given me satisfactory Proof that they resided on tlieir Respect- ive Farms anex'd to their Names in a Patent Granted Daniel Prindle and others Dated 20 of may 1763 and that on account of the late War ware respectively Obliged to Quit their said Farms by the Incursions of the Enemy Witness my Hand this 7th of December 1789. John Williams, Jud Curio. ' Extract of letter from Thomas Jefferson, secretary of state, to Genl. Washington . " Bennington 5th June 1791. Sir ; In my last letter from Philadelphia, I mentioned that Mr. Madison and myself were about to take atrip up the North river, as far as circumstances should permit. The badness of the roads led us quite on to Lake George, where, takino- boat, we went through that, and about twenty-five miles into Lake Champlain. Keturning then to Saratoga, we concluded to cross over through Vermont to Connecticut river, and go down that instead of the North river, which we had already seen ; and we are so far on that route. In the course of our journey we have had opportunities of visiting Stillwater, Saratoga, Forts William Henry and George, Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and the scenes of General Stark's victory." Sparks' s Letters to Washington, vol. iv, p. 374. 508 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. thriving settlement whose opening business prospects and natural advantages, were attracting capital, and gathering the germs of that thrift and success, which have since built up our village to its present prosperous condition. We have seen in the sketches of its churches, and the notices of its business and leading men, the gradual progress and devel- opment of the town and village through all its transitions ; until from a scattered forest hamlet, it has reached almost the propor- tions, wealth, and importance of a city. Upon the future historian will devolve the duty of perpetuat- ing the events of more recent interest and importance, which relate to the town and its citizens; while to the author is left the satisfaction of believing that he has rescued from oblivion many facts, and details connected with the past, which if left ungleaned, would now have been lost, or with difficulty at- tained even by an enthusiastic antiquarian. THE END. ERRATA. T&se 11 Head line for M. read iV. 41 Note, seventh line, lor 1837, read 1637. 61 Note, eighteenth line, for 1791, read 1780. 63 Ninth line from top for Patter read PoUer. 81 Fourth line from bottom for 1781 read 1780. 82 Fifth line of note, for 1781, read 1780. 82 Sub note, for batteaux read bateau. 83 For Anburg's read Anbury's. 193 Head line for Chuuches read Churches. 200 Eighth line from top for Walla, read Wells. 220 Last line but one from bottom of page, for Chatauguay read Chautauquay. GENERAL INDEX. [Acknowledgment.— This being the only opportunity remainin"', the other portion of the work bavin;,' gone to press, the author herewitli tenders liis thanTcs to Mr. J. Miinsell, the publisher, aud also to Col. J. L. Cunningham and S. R. Stoddard of this village, for courtesies rendered in connection with the publication of this work.] *** Explanation.— Inasmuch as the Civil List was arranged alphabetically in the body of the work, it was considered superfluous to repeat the names'in the index, already swollen to a magnitude unlooked for by the author. The names embraced in the military rosters have also been omitted, Otherwise the index is believed to be suUiciently voluminous and complete. Abenakies, The, 13. Abercrombie's advance and defeat, 321. Acknowledgements, vii. Action near Gage's bill in 1780, 480. Action at Rogers's rock, 818. Action at Sabbath day point, 1777, 420. Act of incorporation of the Episcopal Church at Glen's Falls, 246. Adirondack Confederacy. The, 1, 6. Adventures of Ezekiel Roberts, 422. Adventures of fugitives from the Mas- sacre at Fort William Henry, 310. Affair between Half-way brook and Ft. Edward, 316. Affair of Bloody run, 337. Algonquin Tribe, The, 4. Allen, John, of Argyle, and family, Mas- sacred by Burgoyne's Indians, 451, 452. Amherst's Advance, 336, 340, 343. Amherst's Campaign, 301, 338. Armstrong Family, The, of Johnsburgh, 231. Arnold's Expedition to Quebec, 406. Assault upon Diamond island, 458, 459. Attack upon Burgoyne's rear guard, 458. Attorneys, list of, 113. Authorities referred to in this work — Account book of Abraham Wing (the pioneer), 71, Addison's Work, 293. Agricultural Society of the State of New York, Transactions of, 26. Alden Memorial, 50. American Border Wars, by William L. Stone sr. , 494. American Military Pocket Atlas, Tlie, 169, 181. Anbury's travels in North America, 83, 434. Ap])leton's Cyclopedia of Biogra- phy, 273. Baker, Miss Keziah, relation of, 434, 453, 454, 466, 467, 468, 477, Authorities referred to in this work — Bancroft's Hist. U. S. A., 285, 315. Barber's Hist. Collections, 34, 453. Brodhead's Hist, of N. Y., 29. Buell Family, Genealogy of, by J. S. Buell, Esq., 44. Burgoyne's State of the Expedition, 438, 450, 453, 453, 458. Butler's (B. C), Guide Book to Lake George, 28. Butler's (B. C), Handbook of the Adirondack Railway ,430, 431,433. Campbell, Archibald, Map of the Caldwell Estate, 48. Campbell's Annals of Tryon County, 495. Carroll's Journal, 411. Catalogue of Maps in the State Li- brary at Albany, N. Y., 26. Chapman's Sketciies of the' Alumni of Dartmouth College, 44. Chastellux's Travels in North America, 272, 359, 362, 484, 491. Civil List of the State of New York, 43. Clary, Mrs. Rachel, relation of, 426, 43S. Clinton Mss., The, State Librarv at Albany, 130. 494. Colden's Account of New York, 34. Deavitt, John J., 58. Drake's Book of the Indians, 18,25, 28, 29. Drake's Dictionary of American Biography, 314. Durfee's History of Williams Col- lege, 291. D wight's Travels, 18, 284, 291, 296. Evans's Analysis, 28. Ferriss, Mrs. Alfred, relation, 389, 430. First Settlers of Albany County, by Prof. Jonathan Pearson, 357. Fitch, Dr. Asa, 14, 471. 512 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY. Authorities referred to in this work — Fitch's History of Williams Col- lege, 291. Fitch's Hist. Survey of Washington County, 14, 26, 27, 29, 283, 303. Force's American Archives, 396, 397, 399, 400, 404, 414, 416, 417. Fortieth Congress, The (Biograph- ical sketches of), 108. Gallatin's Synopsis, 26, 28, 29. 34, Gazetteer of Washington County, by Allan Corey, 388. Genealogies of the First Settlers of Schenectady, by Prof. Jonathan Pearson, 357. Gentleman's Magazine, The, 387. Gibson, Hon. James, 49, 57. Gill, Captain, An Indian hunter, 32. Glen's Falls Spectator, The,215,249. Goldsmith's (Oliver), Works, 29. Gordon's Gazetteer of New York, 26, 28, 30, 32, 33. Goss, Mrs. Emma, relation of, 499. Graydon's Memoirs, 299. Griswold's Poets and Poetry of America, 257. Hall's History of Vt., 351. Harris, Benjamin, relation of, 448. Harris, Moses, relation of, 445. Hay, Hon. William, 22, 28, 40, 50, 54, 72, 353, 391, 425, 428,437, 451, 452, 459, 479. Hennepin, 27. Historical inquiry concerning Henry Hudson, by John Meredith Head jr., 276. Historical Magazine, The, 352. Historical Sketch (of the Presbyte- rian Church of Glen's Falls), by the Rev. A. J. Fennel, 208, 213, 214. Hoffman's (Charles Fenno), Vigil of Faith, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, Hoskin's History of Vermont, 476. Hough, Dr. F. B.. 481. Hough's Northern Invasion, 121, 470, 476, 477, 479, 481, 482, 491. Hough's History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, 25, 27, 31, 32, 34, 274, 275, 447. Howell, George R., Assist. State Librarian, 223. Hoyt's Antiquarian researches, 29, 31, 296, 299, 313. Insurance Age, The, 172. Irving, Washington, 33. Johnson's Heports, 353. Josseiyn, an early writer, 25. Journal of the Legislative Council tion of, 1(58. Visit of Jefferson and Madison to Queens- bury in 1791, 507. Vocabulary of Indian names, 23. Warren county, Fair Grounds, 76, 149, 155, 167. bank, The, 161. "West church. The, 186. mountain, The, 161, 164. White Creek laid waste and burned in 1780, 484. Wild cat swamp, 145, 149, 186. Williams, Fort, 146. rock, 187. Winer's Falls, 78, 187. island, 73, 81. tavern, 166, 411. Woedtke, The Baron de, 168. Year of the burning, 83.